Tornadoes · United States · Florida · 2017

EF1 tornado, Miramar, Florida, September 9, 2017

This EF1 tornado ran 0.3 miles across Broward County on September 9, 2017, touching down at 8:17 PM EDT and reaching 50 yards wide. It killed nobody.

The rating scale

Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The Enhanced Fujita scale rates the damage rather than measuring the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.

  1. EF065 to 85 mph

    Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.

  2. EF186 to 110 mphthis tornado

    Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.

  3. EF2111 to 135 mph

    Considerable damage. Roofs torn off well-built houses, frame homes shifted on their foundations, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, cars lifted off the ground.

  4. EF3136 to 165 mph

    Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.

  5. EF4166 to 200 mph

    Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.

  6. EF5over 200 mph

    Incredible damage. Strong frame houses swept off their foundations, car-sized missiles thrown more than 100 meters, steel-reinforced concrete badly damaged, high-rise buildings deformed.

  7. Unrated

    The survey recorded a tornado but could not put a number on it, most often because it crossed open country and damaged nothing a rating can be read from.

The record

Rating
EF1
Date
September 9, 2017
Touchdown
8:17 PM EDT (00:17 UTC)
Lifted
8:19 PM EDT (00:19 UTC)
On the ground
2 minutes
Path length
0.3 miles (0.4 km)
Path width
50 yards (46 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
County
Broward County
Touchdown point
26.014, -80.406
Lift-off point
26.017, -80.410
Record number
1709091817-01

What the Weather Service recorded

Major Hurricane Irma made landfall in Southwest Florida on Marco Island as a Category 3 hurricane around 330 PM EDT on September 10th. The storm traveled north through southwest Florida through the evening. Effects from Irma were felt across South Florida from September 9th through September 11th. Irma had reached Category 5 strength and a minimum central pressure of 914 MB east of the Bahamas, maintaining Category 5 intensity until landfall along the north coast of Cuba on September 9th. Irma made its first Florida landfall in the Lower Florida Keys early on September 10th as a Category 4 hurricane. ||The strength and size of Hurricane Irma allowed for impacts to be felt across all of South Florida. Irma brought widespread wind damage, heavy rainfall and storm surge to all areas. Hurricane-force sustained wind were measured in much of Collier County, as well as far southern and inland Miami-Dade County, with the possibility of additional hurricane-force sustained wind in more isolated areas over the remainder of South Florida where widespread tropical storm force sustained wind occurred. Gusts to hurricane force were felt over all of South Florida, with the maximum measured wind gust of 142 mph in Naples in Collier County. Widespread tree damage and some structural damage occurred across all of South Florida, with most structural damage on the minor side.||Irma brought a significant storm surge on both coasts of South Florida. Storm surge of 6 to 8 feet was observed in the Everglades City and Goodland areas of Collier County, with 3 to 5 feet from Marco Island to Naples. Along the east coast, observed storm surge values of 4 to 6 feet were noted along Biscayne Bay from south of Miami to Homestead, and 2 to 4 feet elsewhere along the east coast from Key Biscayne to Palm Beach.||Hurricane Irma brought widespread rainfall and some flooding across the region. From the period between 8 AM EDT September 9th and 8 AM EDT September 11th, 8 to 15 inches of rain were measured over interior portions of Southwest Florida, with estimated amounts of 16 to 20 inches in southwestern Hendry County. This rainfall near the end of a wet summer led to significant flooding over these areas. 5 to 10 inches of rain were noted elsewhere across South Florida, with areas of minor to moderate flooding. ||32 deaths were attributed to Irma in southern Florida, all but one indirect. The only direct death was an 86-year-old man who was knocked down by a gust of wind while opening the front door of his home in Broward County. Most of the deaths occurred during cleanup after the storm, as well as several as a result of carbon monoxide poisoning from misuse of generators. Initial and incomplete damage estimate across the area is estimated to be around $800 million, but in all likelihood will be much higher once damage assessments are completed. $222.5 million in damage came in from Collier County, and about $300 million from Palm Beach County. About $255 million came from the agricultural community in Miami-Dade County.||Total number of people who were at county evacuation shelters were as follows: Miami-Dade County - 31,092, Palm Beach County - 17,263, Collier County - 17,040, Broward County - 17,000, Hendry County - 3,000||Total number of customers without power were as follows: Miami-Dade County - 888,530, Broward County - 689,000, Palm Beach County- 566,240, Collier County - 197,630, Hendry County - 9,700, Glades County - 1,670.

NWS storm survey determined an area of enhanced tree damage along SW 172 Avenue between Memorial Hospital and Miramar Regional Park was the result of a tornado. Sections of trees were completely ripped apart.

NWS storm survey determined a tornado in the Chapel Trail neighborhood near NW 196 Avenue north of Pines Boulevard. Several trees ripped apart with roof tile damage. Damage pattern suggested rotation. Time estimated via radar.

From NOAA NCEI's Storm Events Database, the narrative the local forecast office wrote for Storm Data.

The warnings

No tornado warning for this county appears in the archive as in force at the moment the tornado touched down. One was issued for the county at another hour that day.

The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 16:10 UTC and running to 03:50 UTC.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
16:10 UTC03:50 UTCTornado WatchMFL
20:46 UTC21:15 UTCTornado WarningMFL
22:22 UTC23:00 UTCTornado WarningMFL
22:30 UTC23:00 UTCTornado WarningMFL
22:59 UTC23:30 UTCTornado WarningMFL
23:27 UTC00:00 UTCTornado WarningMFL
23:52 UTC00:15 UTCTornado WarningMFL
03:50 UTC16:00 UTCTornado WatchMFL
07:46 UTC08:15 UTCTornado WarningMFL
08:44 UTC20:45 UTCFlood WarningMFL
11:36 UTC12:00 UTCTornado WarningMFL
12:29 UTC00:30 UTCFlood WarningMFL
12:37 UTC00:30 UTCFlood WarningMFL
17:49 UTC18:15 UTCTornado WarningMFL

Every warning and watch covering the touchdown point that day, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service products. Lead time is measured from the issue of the warning in force to the touchdown time in the database, both of which were recorded to the minute by different people.

The forecast that day

The Storm Prediction Center had this point in a Slight Risk, with a 0.05 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 19:38 UTC.

SPC's Day 1 convective outlook as it stood when the tornado began, read at the touchdown point. The same archive is on the radar archive.

The air that afternoon

The radiosonde launches on either side of the tornado, from the nearest station that was launching then, drawn and analyzed the way Storm Lab does: the same diagram, the same parcel and shear definitions SPC's mesoanalysis uses.

Miami, FL (KMFL), 00:00Z

0.3 hours before the tornado, 25 km from the path. September 10, 2017.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Miami, FL at 00:00Z on 2017-09-10Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 0 joules per kilogram, CIN -5887, lifted condensation level 1179 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed. The warm shading is its CAPE, the cool shading the inhibition it has to break through.
HodographHodograph, Miami, FL at 00:00Z on 2017-09-10The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers as a curve, rings every 10 meters per second labeled in knots. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -25 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 20 knots.19395878Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km. RM and LM are the right and left moving storms Bunkers' method gives; the shaded area is the 0 to 1 km storm-relative helicity.
Mixed-layer CAPE
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-5887 J/kg
Surface CAPE
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1179 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
20 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
8 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-25 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
32 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0
0-3 km lapse rate
5.8 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The surface observations

Hollywood/N. Perry (HWO), 17 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

Time (UTC)Temp (°F)Dew point (°F)WindGust (kt)Pressure (mb)Weather
22:20 UTC70° 13 kt1003.7RA
22:25 UTC80° 19 kt1003.4-RA
22:27 UTC807670° 15 kt231003.4-RA
22:30 UTC70° 15 kt1003.4
22:35 UTC70° 18 kt1003.7
22:40 UTC 1003.4
22:45 UTC 1003.7
22:48 UTC80.673.460° 17 kt281003.4VCTS
22:50 UTC50° 16 kt1003.4
22:53 UTC807360° 17 kt281003.4VCTS
22:55 UTC50° 16 kt1003.4
23:00 UTC60° 19 kt1003.7
23:05 UTC 1003.4
23:10 UTC 1003.7
23:15 UTC50° 16 kt1003.4
23:20 UTC40° 15 kt1003.4
23:25 UTC50° 16 kt1003.4
23:30 UTC50° 15 kt1003
23:35 UTC 1003.4-RA
23:40 UTC 1003.4-RA
23:45 UTC 1003.4-RA
23:50 UTC70° 19 kt1003RA
23:53 UTC847970° 19 kt331003.4VCTS -RA
23:55 UTC 1003.7-RA
00:00 UTC90° 14 kt1003.4RA
00:05 UTC 1003-RA
00:10 UTC100° 16 kt1003.7-RA
00:15 UTC110° 15 kt1004.1+RA
00:17 UTC7774120° 15 kt1004.1+TSRA
00:20 UTC120° 10 kt1004.1RA
00:25 UTC 1004.7RA
00:29 UTC7875140° 20 kt281004.4+RA
00:30 UTC130° 19 kt1004.7+RA BR
00:35 UTC120° 13 kt1004.7+RA BR
00:38 UTC7775120° 18 kt281004.4+TSRA BR
00:40 UTC110° 17 kt1004.1+RA BR
00:45 UTC90° 9 kt1003.7RA BR
00:50 UTC 1004.4RA
00:53 UTC7876140° 16 kt211004.4+TSRA
00:55 UTC130° 10 kt1004.1+RA BR
01:00 UTC140° 7 kt1003.7RA BR
01:05 UTC100° 24 kt1005.8+RA BR
01:10 UTC90° 23 kt1005.1+RA BR
01:15 UTC 1004.4+RA BR
01:20 UTC 1004.7+RA BR
01:25 UTC 1004.7+RA BR
01:27 UTC767490° 35 kt461005.1VCTS +RA BR
01:30 UTC 1004.7+RA BR
01:35 UTC 1005.1RA BR
01:37 UTC767280° 32 kt491005.1-RA BR
01:40 UTC 1004.7-RA
01:45 UTC 1005.1-RA
01:50 UTC70° 22 kt1005.1-RA
01:53 UTC777360° 25 kt371004.7-RA
01:55 UTC 1004.7-RA
02:00 UTC 1004.4-RA
02:05 UTC70° 20 kt1004.4
02:10 UTC70° 21 kt1004.4
02:15 UTC70° 20 kt1004.4

From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of airport observations.

The radar

The Miami radar (KAMX), 45 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 00:13 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment, over the track

Reflectivity and velocity, decoded from the Level II archive in the browser. Volumes take a few seconds to open the first time.

What was reported nearby

Local storm reports within 60 km of the path, in the three hours either side.

Time (UTC)ReportWhereCountyRemark
22:38 UTCTORNADO1 Se Wilton ManorsBroward, FLA TORNADO WAS REPORTED BY A HAM RADIO OPERATOR IN OAKLAND PARK AT 638 PM EDT
23:35 UTCTROPICAL STORM1 Ene SweetwaterMiami-Dade, FLA TROPICAL STORM FORCE WIND GUST ESTIMATED AROUND 60 MPH CAUSED A LARGE TREE TO FALL ONTO MULTIPLE CARS AT THE FOUNTAINBLEU APARTMENTS AROUND 735 PM EDT
23:35 UTCTROPICAL STORM1 Ese Miami InternationMiami-Dade, FLA TROPICAL STORM WIND GUST OF 66 MPH WAS REPORTED BY THE WEATHER BUG MESONET SITE MNTLA LOCATED AT MIAMI INT AIRPORT SOUTH TERMINAL AT 735 PM EDT AT AN ELEVATION OF 95 FEET
01:04 UTCTROPICAL STORM1 Nw Dania BeachBroward, FLA TROPICAL STORM WIND GUST OF 54 KNOTS 62 MPH WAS RECORDED BY THE ASOS SITE AT FORT LAUDERDALE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
01:30 UTCTROPICAL STORMNorth Perry AirportBroward, FLTROPICAL STORM FORCE WIND GUST OF 56 KNOTS 64 MPH WAS RECORDED BY THE ASOS AT NORTH PERRY AIRPORT.
01:36 UTCTROPICAL STORM1 Nw Dania BeachBroward, FLAT ROPICAL STORM WIND GUST OF 57 KNTS 66 MPH WAS RECORDED BY THE ASOS AT FORT LAUDERDALE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service local storm reports.

This ground now

The live radar over the trackEvery 2017 tornado in FloridaEvery tornado in Florida since 1950Warnings in force in Florida nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of September 9, 2017

5 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
September 912:20 PM EDTEF1Collier, FL0.350
September 92:45 PM MDTEF0El Paso, CO0.350
September 96:35 PM EDTEF0Broward, FL1.9100
September 97:01 PM EDTEF0Miami-Dade, FL2.175
September 98:13 PM EDTEF1Broward, FL0.150

What this means

Ratings are the survey's, read off the damage rather than measured; the rating scale is above. Tornado counts rise through the record as reporting improved, so a year in the 1950s is not comparable with one today except for the strongest tornadoes, which were always noticed.

Sources

NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025, the official record kept by NOAA's Storm Prediction Center.