'Weak Tornado' Touches Down In Hialeah

HIALEAH, FL — The National Weather Service in Miami confirmed that a "weak" tornado touched down in Hialeah Sunday night. A storm survey crew conducted a walking tour of the damage on Monday to make the determination.

"It’s a weak tornado. It’s on the lowest end of our tornado scale," meteorologist Barry Baxter with the National Weather Service in Miami told Patch.

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Baxter said the tornado struck just off Florida State Road 826 near West 76th Street between 7:50 p.m. and 7:55 p.m. The storm was classified as an EF0. An EF2 or higher is considered a significant tornado.

Sunday's tornado measured 85 miles per hour at its peak. EF0 storms range from wind speeds of 65 mph up to 85 mph. The width of the Hialeah storm was about the size of a football field and it traveled about half a mile, according to Baxter.

The National Weather Service later narrowed the start of the tornado to 7:52 p.m. It lasted only a minute.

"Tornado likely began on W 20th Avenue and W 76th Street just east of the Palmetto Expressway, tracking ENE over the Palm Lakes neighborhood of Hialeah," according to weather officials. "Heaviest damage began a block to the east at the intersection of W 18th Lane and W 76th Street, where two vehicles were overturned. The heavy damage continued at homes in the 1800 block of W 76th Street, where minor roof damage was noted, along with many broken large tree branches, a couple of uprooted trees, awning and patio damage.

"The tornado then tracked over a small lake, then over a home at W 16th Court and W 77th
Street where a small patio roof was blown across the street," weather officials explained. "The damage pattern became quite discontinuous and spread out to the east of W 16th Court, suggesting that the tornadic circulation had lifted. Estimated wind speeds with the section of the tornado from W 18th Lane to W 16th Court is 75-85 mph, in the upper end of the EF-0 range."

Watch an animation of the tornado below courtesy of the National Weather Service:

Image courtesy National Weather Service