Wedding venue in Blue Ridge, GA for couples in Fort Lauderdale, FL

Tornado rips apart boats, power lines in South Florida

A thunderstorm produced a tornado in Fort Lauderdale on Saturday. Damage and power outages were reported from the twister, but there appeared to be no injuries, authorities said.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – A tornado rolled through Fort Lauderdale, Florida, damaging boats and downing power lines on Saturday.

According to the National Weather Service office in Miami, officials received multiple phone calls and social media reports of a twister near Federal Highway about 5:50 p.m. EST. The NWS issued a Tornado Warning for the storm about 5 minutes before the twister was reported.

Fort Lauderdale officials said in a Facebook post that no injuries have been reported, and the damage from the storm appears to be minor.

A couple from New York was in South Florida to cheer on the Buffalo Bills when they got a Tornado Warning alert on their cellphones. Moments later, they witnessed the tornado roll through a residential area and a marina and captured the entire event on video.

"We were feeling very pleased with ourselves for missing the snow," Meghan Collins told FOX Weather. "Then, we got more than we bargained for."

HOW TO WATCH FOX WEATHER

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Tornado rips through South Florida

A tornado touched down in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on Saturday afternoon. Several witnesses caught the sight on video, and there were no reported injuries.

Fort Lauderdale's mayor said that utility crews were working to restore power to the region and debris cleanup would take place on Monday and Tuesday.

An NWS team conducted a damage survey on Sunday, determining that it was an EF-0 tornado with maximum winds of 80 mph.

There were several reports of other severe weather across the Sunshine State on Saturday, including funnel clouds, a waterspout and damaging wind gusts. The highest thunderstorm wind gust that has been reported was 52 mph near Pine Island.

The storms are associated with a trailing cold front that is attached to a powerful nor’easter moving up the East Coast this weekend. The storm has created a mess of ice, snow and rain as it chugs through the mid-Atlantic and Northeast.

More severe weather is possible in Florida in the coming days as another powerful storm moves across the eastern half of the country.

Maria Bermudes is living in a two-bedroom duplex with her husband and two kids after she was forced out of her home at the Pan American Estates Mobile Home Park.

In October, she and more than 200 residents got notices on their doors, stating that the property had been sold.

They were given six months to move out.

“We see the notice on our door saying that we have until April to move out,” she said.

Bermudes had bought her home in February 2023 for about $40,000 and spent more than $20,000 fixing it up. She planned to move in, in November.

“It was more spacious,” Bermudes said. “It was gonna be our forever home. It was gonna have four rooms and two bathrooms, and our kids were gonna each have their own room.”

Residents were told they had to be out by April, but would be offered money to leave early if they qualified.

Those who relocated or abandoned their homes by December received between $9,000 and $14,000.

Bermudes told NBC6 she got $11,000, but she says that’s nothing compared to what she lost.

“Changing from one place to another, it’s not easy,” said the mother. “Having our forever home then getting our temporary home, it’s terrible.”

NBC6 reached out multiple times to the Urban Group which now runs the mobile home park, but has not received a response.

“Residents were provided a six months’ notice to vacate the property consistent with Florida Statute, said President of the Urban Group Matt Rosenbaum in a statement back in October. "Further, ownership is offering a generous incentive package, far exceeding the statutory minimums, to assist residents in their relocation efforts."

The park once again came under scrutiny on Christmas Day after several trailers burst into flames.

Some residents called the fire “suspicious," but the cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Bermudes told NBC6 she’s just grateful she has a place to stay even though it’s not her forever home.

“For the meantime, we’ll settle here,” she said.

Residents said about 20 families still live in the mobile home park.

Topline

Parts of South Florida are getting hit by a major non-tropical storm that is bringing inches of rain, heavy wind, power outages and school closures — just after Fort Lauderdale passed a record-100 inches of rain for the year.

Key Facts

The extreme weather began on Tuesday and will likely continue at least for the next day, with flood advisories and wind advisories in effect for areas around Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties through Thursday afternoon, according to the National Weather Service.

Around 10 a.m., the NWS said winds were “gradually weakening,” but would continue to gust at 40 to 50 mph through the evening along the coast.

Over the last 24 hours, four to eight inches of rain has fallen over most of the Miami-Dade metro, and up to 15 inches have fallen over portions of the Everglades and far south Miami-Dade, according to the Tampa Bay Times.

The storms have led to some school cancellations in the Broward County Public Schools district and at Broward College, and flooded roads and crashes in the Fort Lauderdale region, the Tampa Bay Times reported.

The weather service warned of the storm in recent days, though the non-tropical area of low pressure is unlikely to turn into a tropical cyclone, with just a 10% chance over the next week.

Surprising Fact

On Wednesday, Fort Lauderdale—which usually gets about 66 inches of rain annually—became one of the wettest major cities in America, surpassing 100 inches of rain this year, according to Fox Weather. As of Wednesday morning, Fox reported the city had received 102 inches of rain this year, meaning it was less than an inch from breaking its 1947 record for most rain in a year.

Big Number

86,544. That’s how many people were without power in Florida just after noon on Thursday, according to poweroutage.us.

With just two weeks left of the Atlantic hurricane season, the National Weather Service said there is a 70% chance—up from 50% on Wednesday—that a late-season tropical cyclone forms in the southwest Caribbean Sea over the next week. Regardless of whether a cyclone forms, the service said the system will bring “heavy rains … likely result(ing) in flash flooding and mudslides” over the weekend around Jamaica and Hispaniola.

We are proud to celebrate the opening of our tenth US office.

As the first global insurance law firm to open an office in Miami in 2010, we have been growing our US presence ever since and have now added a second Florida office in Fort Lauderdale.

The new office, which takes over 1,800 sq ft in the city’s One Financial Plaza, will initially welcome four insurance coverage attorneys who are moving from our Latin America hub in Miami to be closer to clients, particularly their yacht and marine clients, in the region.

Leading the team will be partner Kristen Perkins who specializes in complex insurance disputes for major global and US-based carriers including primary and excess liability, D&O, employment and property.

Associates Nicole Castano and Jordan Lewis have extensive experience litigating insurance issues, including personal injury and medical malpractice claims, employment and commercial litigation disputes, in state and federal courts.

Special counsel Samantha Satish is skilled in handling a wide variety of coverage issues, such as those arising under commercial, residential and automobile insurance policies.

Kristen Perkins says: “I’m delighted to be at the forefront of Kennedys’ latest US expansion, enabling us to better serve our existing clients.

Meg Catalano, US managing partner, adds: “In the last two years alone, we have increased our headcount by 13% and now have close to 200 attorneys servicing clients across the US.

“Kennedys has been on an incredible journey, and I am excited to announce this next new chapter of growth, which is testament to both our loyal clients and our dedicated colleagues whose hard work underpins our success.

Christopher Carroll, Kennedys US senior partner, adds: “Responding to client needs and expanding in key markets is exciting for us. Having a strong presence in Fort Lauderdale will allow us to meet growing demands in these markets.

Fort Lauderdale is our tenth office to open in North America, joining Austin, Basking Ridge, Chicago, Houston, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Wilmington.

We also were recently awarded Mansfield Certification Plus in both the US and UK, for the second year running recognizing our commitment to driving diversity in leadership and championing opportunities for historically underrepresented groups in the legal sector.

Partners with Fort Lauderdale's Museum of Discovery & Science (MODS) as its grand opening partner

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., Sept. 26, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Total Wine & More, America's largest independent retailer of fine wine, spirits and beer, is opening its newest Florida store on Thursday, September 28, 2023. The new store is located at 1740 N. Federal Highway, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33305. The company will celebrate the new store and its team members at a preview event/ribbon cutting on Wednesday evening, September 27^th.

The new store is Total Wine & More's 37^th in Florida, where Total Wine customers have come to expect outstanding service, great selection and best prices. The North Lauderdale store delivers on providing customers with a comprehensive and pleasant shopping experience, the best value in wines, spirits and beers as well as a level of product expertise and service unique to Total Wine & More and its team members.

"Total Wine & More has the most knowledgeable and best trained store team members in the business, which enables us to provide our customers with outstanding service and provide an excellent in-store experience," said Robert Hammack, Sr., Total Wine & More's Chief Stores Officer.

Every year Total Wine & More selects team members from its stores around the country to expand their wine and spirits education by visiting some of the most renowned winegrowing regions and distilleries in the United States and Europe. Team members meet with winemakers and distillers to develop a superior knowledge and understanding of the products in the stores.

At every grand opening of a Total Wine & More store, the company partners with a local non-profit, the first of many charitable organizations the new store will work with over the coming years. Total Wine & More's North Lauderdale store has chosen Museum of Discovery & Science (MODS) to be the new stores' grand opening non-profit.

"Total Wine & More understands and appreciates the importance of investing in the communities around us, which is why we are pleased to partner with the Museum of Discovery & Science to support their good works," said Edward Cooper, Total Wine & More's VP, Public Affairs and Community Relations. "To celebrate the North Lauderdale store's grand opening, Total Wine & More will donate 10% of all wine sales from the store's grand opening weekend – Wednesday, September 27^th through Sunday, October 1^st – to support MODS' outstanding community work."

About Total Wine & MoreTotal Wine & More is the nation's largest independently owned retailer of fine wine, spirits and beer with 257 stores in 28 states. Total Wine & More stores feature an extensive selection of over 8,000 wines, 4,500 spirits and 2,500 beer, all at exceptional prices. Additionally, Total Wine & Moe is committed to giving back to the local community. In 2022, Total Wine & More contributed over $9 million in monetary and in-kind donations to 14,000+ organizations helping those organizations raise in excess of $65 million to support their good causes.

SOURCE Total Wine & More