Tornado and Lightning Strike in Florida, July 23, 2013

Name: Tornado and Lightning Strike in Florida, July 23, 2013
Start: 2013-07-23T11:45
End: 2013-07-23T11:50
Location: Florida

July 23, 2013 · NWS MFL · 2 events in 1 county or zone

A moist and unstable airmass was over South Florida which produced scattered showers and thunderstorms during the afternoon.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 1
Property damage: $10,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 2

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 happened

The episode as NWS MFL wrote it up.

A moist and unstable airmass was over South Florida which produced scattered showers and thunderstorms during the afternoon.

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 Jul 23, 9:06 AM EST, 2 hours 39 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 23, 9:06 AM EST, 2 hours 39 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIAMI FL
1006 AM EDT TUE JUL 23 2013

.UPDATE...

THE 12Z SOUNDING FROM THIS MORNING SHOWS THAT THE STRONG LOW LEVEL
INVERSION THAT WAS PRESENT YESTERDAY HAS ERODED. THE PW IS 1.8,
WHICH IS SIMILAR TO YESTERDAY. OVERALL, TODAY'S SOUNDING IS MORE
UNSTABLE IN THE LOW LEVELS THAN YESTERDAY'S SOUNDING. THIS
MORNING WE ALSO HAVE A CONVERGENCE LINE OVER THE ATLANTIC WATERS
WHICH COULD ENHANCE THE RISK OF WATERSPOUTS OVER THE ATLANTIC
WATERS, AND IT IS MENTIONED IN THE HWO. FOR TODAY, WE EXPECT THE
FORMATION OF SEA BREEZES TO DOMINATE THE CONVECTION. MOST OF THE
CONVECTION IS EXPECTED TO OCCUR OVER THE INTERIOR. WITH VERY LIGHT
STEERING WINDS IT IS POSSIBLE THAT A FEW THUNDERSTORMS COULD REACH
NEAR THE WESTERN PARTS OF THE EAST COAST METRO AREAS, BUT THE
MAJORITY OF THE CONVECTION IS EXPECTED TO REMAIN OVER THE
EVERGLADES. THE HIGH RESOLUTION MODELS ARE ALSO SUGGESTING THIS
SCENARIO. A FEW THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE INTERIOR COULD CONTAIN WIND
GUSTS UP TO 45 MPH.

&&

.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
WEST PALM BEACH  89  75  90  75 / 30 10 40 20
FORT LAUDERDALE  89  78  89  76 / 30 10 40 20
MIAMI            90  76  90  77 / 30 -  30 20
NAPLES           90  75  88  75 / 10 -  20 10

&&

.MFL WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
FL...NONE.
AM...NONE.
GM...NONE.
&&

DISCUSSION/MARINE/FIRE...71/JE
AVIATION/RADAR...30/KOB

Hazardous weather outlook, Jul 23, 3:03 AM EST, 8 hours 42 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR SOUTH FLORIDA
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIAMI FL
403 AM EDT TUE JUL 23 2013

AMZ610-630-650-651-670-671-FLZ063-066>075-168-172>174-GMZ656-657-676-
240000-
LAKE OKEECHOBEE-BISCAYNE BAY-
COASTAL WATERS FROM JUPITER INLET TO DEERFIELD BEACH, FL OUT 20 NM-
COASTAL WATERS FROM DEERFIELD BEACH TO OCEAN REEF, FL OUT 20 NM-
WATERS FROM JUPITER INLET TO DEERFIELD BEACH, FL EXTENDING FROM
20 NM TO 60 NM-
WATERS FROM DEERFIELD BEACH TO OCEAN REEF, FL EXTENDING FROM 20 NM
TO THE TERRITORIAL WATERS OF THE BAHAMAS-GLADES-HENDRY-
INLAND PALM BEACH-METRO PALM BEACH-COASTAL COLLIER-INLAND COLLIER-
INLAND BROWARD-METRO BROWARD-INLAND MIAMI DADE-METRO MIAMI DADE-
MAINLAND MONROE-COASTAL PALM BEACH-COASTAL BROWARD-
COASTAL MIAMI DADE-FAR SOUTH MIAMI DADE-
COASTAL WATERS FROM CHOKOLOSKEE TO BONITA BEACH, FL OUT 20 NM-
COASTAL WATERS FROM EAST CAPE SABLE TO CHOKOLOSKEE, FL OUT 20 NM-
GULF WATERS FROM CHOKOLOSKEE TO BONITA BEACH, FL EXTENDING FROM
20 TO 60 NM-
403 AM EDT TUE JUL 23 2013

...ISOLATED TO SCATTERED STORMS TODAY...
...SLIGHT CHANCE OF WATERSPOUTS NEAR-SHORE ATLANTIC WATERS THIS MORNING...

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTH FLORIDA.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

THUNDERSTORMS: ISOLATED TO SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE
THIS AFTERNOON OVER SOUTH FLORIDA ESPECIALLY ALONG THE EAST
BREEZES AND OVER THE INTERIOR AREAS. THE PRIMARY IMPACTS WILL BE
LIGHTNING STRIKES, GUSTY WINDS, AND LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL.

WIND: THE STRONGEST STORMS THIS AFTERNOON WILL BE CAPABLE OF
PRODUCING WIND GUSTS UP TO 45 MPH.

TEMPERATURES: TEMPERATURES TODAY WILL WARM UP INTO THE LOWER TO
MID 90S OVER THE INTERIOR AREAS. THIS WILL ALLOW FOR THE HEAT
INDEX TO GET UP TO THE LOW 100S OVER THE INTERIOR AREAS OF
COLLIER COUNTY TODAY.

WATERSPOUTS: THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF WATERSPOUTS THIS MORNING OVER
THE NEAR-SHORE WATERS OF THE ATLANTIC AND BISCAYNE BAY, DUE TO THE
COLLISION OF THE LIGHT SOUTHEAST WINDS OVER THE ATLANTIC WATERS
AND WESTERLY LIGHT WINDS OVER THE MAINLAND AREAS OF SOUTH
FLORIDA. THE THREAT OF WATERSPOUTS WILL END BY THIS AFTERNOON AS
THE STEERING FLOW BECOMES SOUTHERLY OVER THE ATLANTIC WATERS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY
ISOLATED TO SCATTERED MAINLY AFTERNOON AND EVENING THUNDERSTORMS
ARE EXPECTED THROUGH THE WEEK WITH MOST OF THE ACTIVITY OVER THE
EAST COAST METRO AREAS.

WITH AFTERNOON TEMPERATURES WARMING INTO THE 90S OVER INTERIOR
AREAS, HEAT INDEX READINGS WILL REACH THE 100 TO 104 RANGE MOST
AFTERNOONS THIS WEEK.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED.

FOR MORE INFORMATION...VISIT THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN
MIAMI WEBSITE AT WWW.WEATHER.GOV/MIAMI.

BAXTER

The radar

The Miami radar (KAMX), 58 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 16:46 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 tornado, 1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.

Tornado, Broward

When: July 23, 11:45 AM EST to 11:46 AM EST
Where: Broward County, 1.65 mi ENE of Plantation
Rating: EF0
Path length: 0.01 mi
Path width: 10 yd
Property damage: $10,000
Reported by: Broadcast Media
Coordinates: 26.087, -80.175

Broadcast Media and Law Enforcement reported a weak tornado touched down at Power Catamarans of South Florida damaging dinghies and watercraft. A couple of boats were overturned in the marina with one boat having a bent up shade and a catamaran was pushed into a fence. The force of the tornado also picked up three small Livingston catamarans and blew them across the yard along with a couple more on a rack. There was also one downed power line and some flashing was torn from a building.

Lightning, Broward

When: July 23, 11:50 AM EST
Where: Broward County, 1.1 mi WSW of Washinton Park
Injuries: 0 direct, 1 indirect
Reported by: Broadcast Media
Coordinates: 26.125, -80.197

A 42-year old male crane operator was injured when his crane was struck by lightning in Lauderhill. He was taken to Broward Health Medical Center where he was listed in fair condition.

What these are

Tornado: A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.
Lightning: A lightning strike that killed, injured or caused damage.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Florida in 2013 Every state in 2013 This day in weather history The tornado archive for Florida, 2013 Warnings in Florida, July 2013

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: 469925, 469928.