Meteorological history | |
---|---|
Formed | 1:53 p.m. EDT (UTC−04:00) May 12,1997 |
Dissipated | 2:08 p.m. EDT (UTC−04:00) May 12,1997 |
Duration | 15 minutes |
F1 tornado | |
on the Fujita scale | |
Highest winds | 110 mph (180 km/h) |
Overall effects | |
Fatalities | 0 |
Injuries | 12 |
Damage | $525,000 |
Areas affected | Miami,Florida,U.S. |
Power outages | 21,000 people |
The 1997 Miami tornado (also known as the Great Miami Tornado) [1] was an F1 tornado which touched down in Miami,Florida,on May 12,1997. It is remembered not for its minor damage,but for its haunting pictures which became the subject of worldwide press attention. The tornado was captured by an elevated camera operated by the local television station WPLG. [2]
The tornado formed at 1:53 p.m. EDT,initially touching down in the Silver Bluff Estates area. [3] It then swept through Downtown Miami bypassing the city's skyscrapers. It crossed the MacArthur Causeway and the Venetian Causeway towards Miami Beach,sideswiping the cruise ship MS Sovereign of the Seas. The tornado lifted from the water halfway through Biscayne Bay and touched down briefly again in Miami Beach,flipping over a car and then dissipating. The Storm Prediction Center in Oklahoma had noted the possibility for tornadoes in the area and warned that there might be more to come. The tornado ultimately caused 12 injuries and $525,000 in damage, [4] though no injuries were serious. [5] The tornado's passage also cut power to 21,000 people. [5]
While hurricanes are often seen as the biggest weather threat to Miami,tornadoes are relatively common in South Florida,although the vast majority of the ones that strike Miami-Dade County are small,relatively weak F0 or F1 tornadoes. Most of these tornadoes form as either waterspouts off Biscayne Bay,as part of the frequent afternoon thunderstorms,or spawned from a tropical storm or hurricane.
Key Biscayne is an island village in Miami-Dade County,Florida,United States. The village is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida. The population was 14,809 at the 2020 census,up from 12,344 in 2010.
Biscayne Bay is a lagoon with characteristics of an estuary located on the Atlantic coast of South Florida. The northern end of the lagoon is surrounded by the densely developed heart of the Miami metropolitan area while the southern end is largely undeveloped with a large portion of the lagoon included in Biscayne National Park.
Virginia Key is an 863-acre (3.49 km2) barrier island in Miami,Florida. It is located in Biscayne Bay south of Brickell and north of Key Biscayne and is accessible from the mainland via the Rickenbacker Causeway.
Hurricane David was a devastating Atlantic hurricane which caused massive loss of life in the Dominican Republic in August 1979,and was the most intense hurricane to make landfall in the country in recorded history. A long-lived Cape Verde hurricane,David was the fourth named storm,second hurricane,and first major hurricane of the 1979 Atlantic hurricane season.
This page documents notable tornadoes and tornado outbreaks worldwide in 2006. Strong and destructive tornadoes form most frequently in the United States,Bangladesh,and Eastern India,but they can occur almost anywhere under the right conditions. Tornadoes also develop occasionally in southern Canada during the Northern Hemisphere's summer and somewhat regularly at other times of the year across Europe,Asia,Argentina,Brazil and Australia. Tornadic events are often accompanied with other forms of severe weather,including strong thunderstorms,strong winds,and hail.
Hurricane Earl was an atypical,disorganized,and short-lived Category 2 hurricane that caused moderate damage throughout the Southeast United States. It formed out of a poorly organized tropical disturbance over the southwest Gulf of Mexico late on August 31,1998. Tracking towards the northeast,the storm quickly intensified into a hurricane on September 2 and made landfall early the next day near Panama City,Florida. Rapidly tracking towards Atlantic Canada,the extratropical remnants of Earl significantly intensified before passing over Newfoundland on September 6. The remnants were absorbed by former Hurricane Danielle two days later.
Hurricane Danny produced 13 significant (F2+) tornadoes in the Southern United States during August 1985,the most spawned by a tropical cyclone until Hurricane Ivan in 2004. The fourth named storm and third hurricane of the season,Danny developed from a tropical wave in the northwestern Caribbean Sea on August 12. The system moved northwestward and initially remained weak. Early on August 13,it brushed Cape San Antonio,Cuba before emerging the Gulf of Mexico later that day. The system then intensified into Tropical Storm Danny on August 14. Danny deepened further and became a hurricane early on the following day,while beginning to re-curve north-northwestward. Late on August 16,Danny attained its peak intensity with winds of 90 mph (150 km/h). Shortly thereafter,the storm made landfall near Grand Chenier,Louisiana at the same intensity. Early on August 17,Danny weakened to a tropical storm and was downgraded to a tropical depression several hours later. It moved east-northeastward across the Southeastern United States,until dissipating over southeastern Virginia on August 18.
The Rickenbacker Causeway is a causeway that connects Miami,Florida to the barrier islands of Virginia Key and Key Biscayne across Biscayne Bay.
This page documents notable tornadoes and tornado outbreaks worldwide in 2003. Strong and destructive tornadoes form most frequently in the United States,Bangladesh,and Eastern India,but they can occur almost anywhere under the right conditions. Tornadoes also develop occasionally in southern Canada during the Northern Hemisphere's summer and somewhat regularly at other times of the year across Europe,Asia,and Australia. Tornadic events are often accompanied with other forms of severe weather,including strong thunderstorms,strong winds,and hail.
The effects of Hurricane Wilma in Florida resulted in the storm becoming one of the costliest tropical cyclones in Florida history. Wilma developed in the Caribbean Sea just southwest of Jamaica on October 15 from a large area of disturbed weather. After reaching tropical storm intensity on October 17 and then hurricane status on October 18,the system explosively deepened,peaking as the strongest tropical cyclone ever recorded in the Atlantic basin. Wilma then slowly weakened while trekking to the northwest and fell to Category 4 intensity by the time it struck the Yucatán Peninsula on October 22. Thereafter,a strong cold front swept the storm northeastward into Florida on October 24,with landfall occurring near Cape Romano as a Category 3 hurricane with winds of 120 mph (190 km/h). Wilma continued rapidly northeastward into the Atlantic Ocean and became extratropical on October 26.
The 1925 Miami tornado was an intense tornado that struck Dade County,Florida,on April 5,1925. It remains the deadliest tornado to affect the South Florida county,and it is estimated to have been the most intense tornado to strike the Miami area. The tornado caused five deaths and produced damage totals that were estimated near $200–300,000 (1925 USD). 35 people were also hospitalized because of injuries. The tornado remains the only tornado to cause multiple fatalities in Dade County. While officially unrated,it is estimated that the tornado likely produced F3-level damage based on photographs taken after the passage of the supercell.
On Tuesday,February 23,1965,a small,localized tornado outbreak affected the southern Florida peninsula. At least four confirmed tornadoes touched down between 10 a.m.–1 p.m. EST (15:00–18:00 UTC);the strongest tornado moved through the Fort Lauderdale area and produced F3 damage on the Fujita scale,injuring six people. In addition,a F1 tornado also moved through northern Broward and southern Palm Beach counties. Two tornadoes also affected Lee County,producing F2 and F1 damage,respectively.
On March 16–17,1983,a significant severe weather event affected the island of Cuba and the southern Florida peninsula,including the Miami metropolitan area. A total of at least four tornadoes affected these regions;while as many as 17 were reported in South Florida,only two were confirmed in the official National Weather Service records. The strongest tornado produced F2 damage on the Fujita scale and skipped across the Everglades region from the eastern Big Cypress National Preserve through the Everglades and Francis S. Taylor Wildlife Management Area to Lighthouse Point—a path length of nearly 53 mi (85 km). An F1 tornado also affected Naples and Golden Gate. Additionally,unconfirmed tornadoes affected an RV park southeast of East Naples,as well as the Stuart and Jupiter areas,respectively. In addition to tornadoes,severe thunderstorms produced hail to 1 in (2.5 cm) in diameter,as well as rainfall totals of 1 to 2 in in some areas.
On June 18–19,1972,Hurricane Agnes generated the third-deadliest tropical cyclone-related tornado outbreak in the United States since 1900,as well as the deadliest such tornado outbreak on record in Florida. The outbreak lasted about 38 hours and produced at least 19 confirmed tornadoes,though some studies suggested nearly a dozen more. Two of the tornadoes killed a total of seven people and were not classified as tornadoes by the National Weather Service until 2018. In Florida alone,the outbreak inflicted at least 135 injuries and destroyed 15 homes,while 119 homes received damage. Statewide,217 trailers were destroyed and 196 trailers incurred damage. Additionally,six businesses were destroyed,while six others were damaged.
The effects of Hurricane Georges in Florida lasted for more than a week in late September and early October in 1998. After developing from a tropical wave to the south of Cape Verde on September 15,Georges moved steadily west-northwestward and peaked as a strong Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir–Simpson scale on September 20. After weakening slightly to a Category 3,the cyclone proceeded to strike Antigua,Saint Kitts and Nevis,Puerto Rico,Dominican Republic,and Cuba. Georges emerged into the Straits of Florida as a Category 1,but re-strengthened slightly to a Category 2 before making landfall in Key West,Florida,on September 25. The hurricane continued northwestward into the Gulf of Mexico and struck near Biloxi,Mississippi,on September 28. After moving inland,Georges turned eastward and crossing into the Florida Panhandle on the next day. By October 1,the system dissipated near the northeast Florida–southeast Georgia coast.
The 1998 Hurricane Georges tornado outbreak was a six-day tornado outbreak associated with the passage of Hurricane Georges in the Southeast United States. Most of the tornadoes produced by the storm formed in the outer bands of the storm and were relatively weak;however,one F2 tornado touched down in Florida. The outbreak produced 47 tornadoes—20 in Alabama,17 in Florida and 10 in Georgia—and was the most extensive tornado event in Florida history,with touchdowns reported the entire length of the state.
This page documents the tornadoes and tornado outbreaks of 1997,primarily in the United States. Most tornadoes form in the U.S.,although some events may take place internationally. Tornado statistics for older years like this often appear significantly lower than modern years due to fewer reports or confirmed tornadoes,however by the 1990s tornado statistics were coming closer to the numbers we see today.
Hurricane Rina was a small and slow-moving,but powerful tropical cyclone that caused minor impacts in the northwestern Caribbean Sea in late October 2011. The seventeenth named storm,seventh hurricane,and fourth major hurricane of the annual hurricane season,Rina developed from a tropical wave in the western Caribbean on October 23. The depression quickly intensified,and was upgraded to Tropical Storm Rina early on the following day. Further strengthening ensued as it tracked west-northwestward,with Rina becoming a hurricane on October 24. The hurricane eventually peaked as a Category 3 hurricane while it moved generally westward on October 25. However,on October 26,Rina weakened substantially and was downgraded to a Category 1 hurricane. Further weakening occurred,with Rina falling to tropical storm intensity on October 27. Rina then made landfall in northern Quintana Roo early the next day. The cyclone degenerated into a remnant low later on October 28 after emerging into the Yucatán Channel. The low dissipated near the western tip of Cuba on October 29.
Hurricane Andrew was a compact,but very powerful and destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that struck the Bahamas,Florida,and Louisiana in August 1992. It is the most destructive hurricane to ever hit Florida in terms of structures damaged or destroyed,and remained the costliest in financial terms until Hurricane Irma surpassed it 25 years later. Andrew was also the strongest landfalling hurricane in the United States in decades and the costliest hurricane to strike anywhere in the country,until it was surpassed by Katrina in 2005. In addition,Andrew is one of only four tropical cyclones to make landfall in the continental United States as a Category 5,alongside the 1935 Labor Day hurricane,1969's Camille,and 2018's Michael. While the storm also caused major damage in the Bahamas and Louisiana,the greatest impact was felt in South Florida,where the storm made landfall as a Category 5 hurricane,with 1-minute sustained wind speeds as high as 165 mph (266 km/h) and a gust as high as 174 mph (280 km/h). Passing directly through the cities of Cutler Bay and Homestead in Dade County,the hurricane stripped many homes of all but their concrete foundations and caused catastrophic damage. In total,Andrew destroyed more than 63,500 houses,damaged more than 124,000 others,caused $27.3 billion in damage,and left 65 people dead.
Tropical Storm Bertha was a rapidly forming and short-lived off-season tropical storm that affected the Eastern United States in late May 2020. The second named storm of the very active 2020 Atlantic hurricane season,Bertha originated from a trough in the Gulf of Mexico. The National Hurricane Center (NHC) only anticipated slight development as the trough moved over southern Florida,bringing torrential rainfall. The system rapidly organized on May 27 after it emerged into the western Atlantic Ocean,developing a small,well-defined circulation. That day,the disturbance developed into Tropical Storm Bertha east of Georgia,and a few hours later it moved ashore near Isle of Palms,South Carolina with peak winds of 50 mph (80 km/h). The storm weakened over land and dissipated late on May 28 over West Virginia.