March 1983 South Florida tornado outbreak

F2 tornado
Max rating1	F2 tornado
1Most severe tornado damage; see Fujita scale

The March 1983 South Florida tornado outbreak was a significant severe weather event that affected the southern Florida peninsula, including the Miami metropolitan area, on March 17, 1983. A total of at least five tornadoes affected the region as many as 17 were reported, 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 miles (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 inch (2.5 cm) in diameter, as well as rainfall totals of 1 to 2 inches (25 to 51 mm) in some areas.

On Thursday, March 17, a large and intense surface low pressure area over the Gulf of Mexico produced gale-force winds over the southern Florida peninsula. Above the surface, a strong low-level jet stream coupled with a large negative geopotential height—with heights measuring more than five standard deviations below normal—produced sufficient lifting and wind shear, both conditions conducive to severe weather. Due to the favorable conditions for severe weather, the National Weather Service office in Miami issued a tornado watch for South Florida effective the morning of March 17. The watch was canceled at 9:30 a.m. EST, but then was reissued and extended to 5:00 p.m. as more storms formed over the Everglades.Forecasters expected the low pressure area in the Gulf of Mexico to bring a cold front across Florida on Friday, March 18.

...
Wikipedia