On Thursday, March 17, 1983,
surface weather analysis indicated that a large and intense
low-pressure area over the
Gulf of Mexico was producing
gale-force winds over the southern Florida peninsula. Above the surface, a strong low-level
jet stream coupled with a large negative
geopotential heightâmeasuring
standard deviations below normalâproduced 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 (14:30
UTC), but then was reissued and extended to 5:00 p.m. (22:00 UTC) 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.[13]
At least three unconfirmed tornadoes were reported, two of them in Martin County and the other one in Collier County:
âąA tornado reportedly affected the Hitching Post RV Travel Resort, near
Naples Manor, causing $6,000 in damage to one trailer, tearing loose a
carport from another, and felling trees and utility lines. Electricity was disrupted for four hours, leaving 300 residents powerless.[17]
âąAnother possible tornado about 8:20 a.m. (13:20 UTC) overturned a vehicle on the
Bee-Line Highway north of
Indiantown Road, west of
Jupiter, injuring one woman. The person was transported to a hospital, where she was treated and released.[18]
âąA third possible tornado touched down around 8:35 a.m. (13:35 UTC) in
Stuart, damaging trees, downing branches, and destroying portions of tree trunks, along with a screened
greenhouse.
Florida Power and Light crews removed branches from electrical wires.[18]
March 16 event
Confirmed tornadoes â Wednesday, March 16, 1983[nb 4][nb 5]
This tornado, the first of the day, touched down near Naples and moved northeast across the
Naples airport, flipping a plane on its back. In Naples, the tornado also uprooted many trees. Next, the tornado tore the roof from a store in Golden Gate, blew an awning 600 ft (200 yd), snapped power poles, and downed wires. In Golden Gate, 1,800 residents lost electrical services for 40 minutes. After striking Golden Gate, the tornado apparently dissipated over rural, swampy areas. The touchdown may have occurred at 6:45 am, or more than one tornado was involved.[21][22][23][24]
The second tornado of the day was a long-tracked tornado that was probably a
family of up to five tornadoes. The tornado, or the first member of its family, touched down near Trailtown at about 7:49 a.m. local
standard time, though it may have formed farther southwest in the Everglades, as one person reportedly sighted a tornado as early as 7:30 a.m.
EST. Upon touching down, the tornado damaged two
bungalows owned by
Seminole Indians. One trailer was destroyed, and TJ's Service Station in
Monroe Station lost its roof when the tornado crossed
Tamiami Trail, about 20 mi (32 km) east of
Ochopee. Phone service was disrupted at the service station, where losses were estimated near $30,000. Two vehicles, one of which was a refueling van, were overturned, injuring two people. Additionally, electrical wires were damaged, a car was hurled into a house, and a
dumpster was thrown 50 ft (17 yd).
The tornado moved northeast at 50 mph (80 km/h) across the Everglades, entering northwest Dade County and then southwest Broward County. Subsequently, the tornado struck the communities of
Sunrise,
Lauderhill,
North Lauderdale,
Margate,
Pompano Beach, and Lighthouse Point. It first hit several homes and a recreation center in Sunrise, causing extensive damage. As it moved through Sunrise, the tornado downed power poles, wires, screen enclosures, trees, and mailboxes. Doors at the Sunrise
city hall were blown open, allowing debris inside that covered the first floor of the building. Damage was widespread throughout the city, particularly along and near
Oakland Park Boulevard (SR 816). At least three
funnel clouds were reported in Sunrise, and at least one tornado touchdown was alleged. Windows were broken in hundreds of homes, while trees and power lines were prostrated. The mayor of the town of Sunrise, John Lomelo, declared a
state of emergency in town, upon hearing of damage to city hall and across the city. Next, the tornado blew a porch from a home in Lauderhill. In North Lauderdale, the tornado damaged 30 to 40 homes in a four-block area, blowing awnings loose and uprooting trees. In Margate, the tornado affected the 600 and 700 blocks along SW 51st Avenue. A home was unroofed, another home lost most of its roof, and trees and power lines were downed. The tornado tore a bedroom door from its hinges, broke glass, and snapped a 40-foot-tall (12 m)
Norfolk Island pine tree in half.
After hitting Margate, the tornado struck the Pompano Beach
service plaza on
Florida's Turnpike, overturning an
18-wheeler tractor trailer, uprooting trees, and blowing away signs. In this area, the tornado was estimated to have been 1⁄4 to 1⁄2 mi (0.40 to 0.80 km) wide. After hitting the service plaza, the tornado continued northeast to Golf View Estates, a mobile-home
park north of
Palm-Aire Country Club, damaging about 15
mobile homes, of which six to eight had major damage. Several mobile homes were unroofed. Near the intersection of Copans Road and Northeast Third Avenue, the tornado struck another mobile-home park, where its winds overturned a mobile home and moved another off its foundation. Trees in the park were snapped "like toothpicks," and a downed tree landed on a mobile home. Nearby, the tornado also broke glass in a two-story home. As it continued across north Pompano Beach, the tornado destroyed a
satellite dish at a restaurant. The tornado continued northeast to Lighthouse Point, where a
department store on
Federal Highway had its roof damaged. Flying debris from the store also damaged nearby apartments. Nearby, windows were shattered in a public library, and a supermarket
delivery truck carrying frozen food was overturned. The Lighthouse Point section of the path was described as having been being done by a separate tornado.
The EvergladesâLighthouse Point tornado featured the second-longest path recorded south of Lake Okeechobee; only one tornado in 1968 featured a longer path of 65 mi (105 km) in southern Florida.[25]
Non-tornadic effects
In Cuba,
severe thunderstorms generated winds of 98 mph (158 km/h) at
Varadero Airport on March 16. 12-to-15-foot-high (3.7 to 4.6 m) waves ravaged the
MalecĂłn in
Havana, leading to flooding whose effects were described as "'unprecedented'." The combination of weather and tide wrecked 124 homes in Cuba. A day later, unusually cool temperatures in the upper levels of the atmosphere contributed to large
hail in portions of South Florida, including the
Miami area. Hail of 3⁄4 to 1
in (1.9 to 2.5
cm) in diameter was reported in
Dade Countyâan unusually large size for hail in South Florida. In
Miami Beach, hail larger than marble size fell, causing cuts and bruises to one person, who was treated for minor injuries. Up to 2 in (51 mm) of rain fell in Miami, while
Fort Lauderdale received 1 in (25 mm). The heavy rains caused
traffic congestion, and several accidents occurred. Severe winds were also reported elsewhere in the state, particularly near
Daytona Beach. In Broward County, the strong winds downed live power lines and smashed cars' windows.[26]
^An
outbreak is generally defined as a group of at least six tornadoes with no more than a six-hour gap between individual tornadoes; however, the threshold varies slightly according to local climatology. On the Florida peninsula, an outbreak consists of at least four tornadoes occurring relatively synchronouslyâno more than four hours apart.[1][2][3][4][2]
^The
Fujita scale was devised under the aegis of scientist
T. Theodore Fujita in the early 1970s. Prior to the advent of the scale in 1971, tornadoes in the United States were officially unrated.[5][6] While the Fujita scale has been superseded by the
Enhanced Fujita scale in the U.S. since February 1, 2007,[7] Canada used the old scale until April 1, 2013;[8] nations elsewhere, like the United Kingdom, apply other classifications such as the
TORRO scale.[9]
^Historically, the number of tornadoes globally and in the United States was and is likely underrepresented: research by Grazulis on annual tornado activity suggests that, as of 2001, only 53% of yearly U.S. tornadoes were officially recorded. Documentation of tornadoes outside the United States was historically less exhaustive, owing to the lack of monitors in many nations and, in some cases, to internal political controls on public information.[10] Most countries only recorded tornadoes that produced severe damage or loss of life.[11] Significant low biases in U.S. tornado counts likely occurred through the early 1990s, when advanced
NEXRAD was first installed and the
National Weather Service began comprehensively verifying tornado occurrences.[12]
^
abAll dates are based on the local
time zone where the tornado touched down; however, all times are in
Coordinated Universal Time and dates are split at midnight
CST/CDT for consistency.
^
abPrior to 1994, only the average widths of tornado paths were officially listed.[19]
^Edwards, Roger (March 5, 2015).
"Enhanced F Scale for Tornado Damage". The Online Tornado FAQ (by Roger Edwards, SPC). Storm Prediction Center. Retrieved February 25, 2016.
Frank, Ann; d'Oliveira, Stephen (March 17, 1983).
"At least 4 tornadoes tear through county". Fort Lauderdale News. Fort Lauderdale, Florida. p. 1A – via Newspapers.com.
Brannigan, Martha (March 18, 1983).
"Five cities hit by tornadoes". Gulf Coast News. South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Broward Metro Final ed.). Fort Lauderdale, Florida. p. 1A – via Newspapers.com.
Frank, Ann; d'Oliveira, Stephen (March 17, 1983).
"At least 4 tornadoes tear through county". Fort Lauderdale News. Fort Lauderdale, Florida. p. 1A – via Newspapers.com.
Frank, Ann; d'Oliveira, Stephen (March 17, 1983).
"At least 4 tornadoes tear through county". Fort Lauderdale News. Fort Lauderdale, Florida. p. 1A – via Newspapers.com.
Grazulis, Thomas P. (July 1993). Significant Tornadoes 1680â1991: A Chronology and Analysis of Events.
St. Johnsbury, Vermont: The Tornado Project of Environmental Films.
ISBN1-879362-03-1.