Name: Funnel Cloud in Florida, September 11, 2002
Start: 2002-09-11T13:20
End: 2002-09-11T13:20
Location: Florida

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

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The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 1

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Miami, FL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Sep 11, 12:01 PM EST, 1 hour 19 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 11, 12:01 PM EST, 1 hour 19 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIAMI
101 PM EDT WED SEP 11 2002

MODELS STILL SHOWING QUITE A BIT OF DISPARITY IN EVOLUTION OF
GULF DEVELOPMENT. AVN/NOGAPS/U.S.A.F MM5/ AND CANADIAN MODELS
DEVELOP LOW CENTRAL GULF, MOVE SYSTEM E THEN NORTHEASTWARD TO
SOMEWHERE OVER N FLA/PANHANDLE. SOME OTHER MODELS DEVELOP SYSTEM
FURTHER W. CURRENT CONFAB WITH NHC PLACES A WEAK NE MOVEMENT ON
SYSTEM.

EVOLUTION APPEARS ON OLD SURFACE TROUGH THAT MOVED OVER S FLA TODAY
AND EXTENDED INTO GULF AS GUSTAV MOVED NE. AN UPPER TROUGH
ASSOCIATED WITH GUSTAV OVER THE SE U.S. PINCHES OFF AND THIS WOULD
POSSIBLY LIMIT THE SHEAR THAT GULF CURRENTLY EXPERIENCING AND WOULD
ALLOW SOME STRENGTHENING DOWN THE ROAD.

REGARDLESS, VERY MOIST TROPICAL AIR OVER S FLA AND SW WINDS SURFACE
AND ALOFT TO CONTINUE OVER S FLA PULLING THIS MOISTURE NORTHWARD.
SEEING  AMOUNT OF RAIN THAT FELL YESTERDAY AND POTENTIAL (THROUGH
SAT MORNING) GUIDANCE GIVES S FLA A BROAD 3 TO 6 INCH POTENTIAL
RAINFALL THROUGH SAT MORNING WITH BULL-EYES EMPHASIZING THE W
COUNTIES AS PRECIPITATION COULD OCCUR OVERNIGHT IN THE W BUT BE MORE
DIURNAL IN THE E. BUT, ANYONE TSTM COULD DUMP LARGE AMOUNTS OF RAIN
AND ALL COUNTIES VULNERABLE.

IN THE EXTENDED, REGARDLESS WHICH MODEL FOLLOWED, DRIER AIR FILTERS
N FROM THE CARIB OVER S FLA DECREASING THE POPS. WITH RIDGING
DEVELOPING OVER S FLA, LOW LEVEL WINDS BECOME SE, MAYBE MORE IF
DEVELOPMENT OCCURS IN GULF, BUT UPPER FLOW (STEERING WINDS) REMAINS
WESTERLY WHICH WOULD STILL EMPHASIS INTERIOR AND E AFTERNOON MAINLY
THROUGH SUNDAY AT LEAST.

IN THE MARINE ZONES, DEPENDING GREATLY ON WHAT GOES ON IN GULF,
WINDS WILL GENERALLY BE S/SW 10-15 KNOTS TONIGHT AND THU BACKING
SLIGHTLY TO SE/S 10-15 KNOTS THU NIGHT AND FRI THEN POSSIBLY
PERSISTING IN THIS DIRECTION AND SLOWLY DECREASING THROUGH THE
WEEKEND. NO HIGHLIGHTS AT THIS TIME.

NO FIRE WEATHER PROBLEMS.

PBI TT 075/085 075/085 074 1577753
FLL TT 075/086 076/086 078 1577753
MIA TT 075/086 076/086 077 1577753
APF TT 076/085 077/085 074 15+8754=

.MIA...FLOOD WATCH ALL COUNTIES TODAY THROUGH NOON THURSDAY.

The radar

The Miami radar (KAMX), 60 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 18:18 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 funnel cloud. Local standard time, as filed.

Funnel Cloud, Broward

When: September 11, 1:20 PM EST
Where: Broward County, Oakland Park
Reported by: UNKNOWN
Coordinates: 26.152, -80.456 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A SKYWARN spotter sighted a funnel cloud.

What these are

Funnel Cloud: A rotating column of cloud extending from a thunderstorm that did not reach the ground.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Florida in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Florida, September 2002

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5316701.