EF-2 Tornado With 130MPH Winds Touches Down In Palm Beach Gardens: NWS

PALM BEACH GARDENS, FL — An EF-2 tornado with peak winds of 130 mph touched down in Palm Beach Gardens Saturday afternoon, causing substantial damage as powerful storms moved across South Florida, according to the National Weather Service in Miami.

A tornado's damage intensity is often rated on the Enhanced Fujita Scale, the NWS said. Their rating is based on estimated wind speeds and related damage, with the lowest being an EF-0 with three-second gusts of 65 to 85 mph and the strongest being an EF-5 with gusts more than 200 mph.

The tornado, which touched down with 100 mph winds, was on the ground in Palm Beach Gardens from 5:10 p.m. to 5:21 p.m. and traveled 2.61 miles, the agency said.

It formed just east of Interstate 95 and moved northeast, passing south of the Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center before moving through the Sanctuary Cove Community, crossing PGA Boulevard near the U.S. 1 intersection and dissipating before reaching Juno Beach.

As it traveled across Palm Beach Gardens, the tornado flipped several cars, destroyed a dry-cleaning business, caused roof and structural damage to multiple homes, uprooted and snapped trees, and damaged power poles and signs, NWS said.

"I watched it for about 20 seconds to see which way it was going to move and then obviously, when I saw it kind of closing in toward us, I immediately shut the slider, went back in, huddled in the bathroom, the building started to shake, there was a lot of noise for 20 to 25 seconds,” Andrew Laybourne, who lives in the Point at Palm Beach Gardens apartments, told WPBF.

The Palm Beach Gardens Police Department has not reported any major injuries or fatalities. A spokeswoman for the city said officials have deactivated emergency protocols and were working through lingering issues Sunday.

This story includes reporting from The Associated Press.