Reflecting on the May 1997 Miami, Florida Tornado (credit: This Day in Weather History)

DISCUSSION: As we look back to May 12th, 1997, we arrive at a fairly historic day in Florida state weather history.  On this day back in 1997, many people across southern sections of the state of Florida bore witness to a fairly historic tornado in Florida state history.  This tornado formed as the result of a weak pulse of energy moving across portions of central to southern Florida during the morning and afternoon hours of May 12th. As convection fired up later in the day on May 12th, there was also a substantial degree of low to mid-level rotation in the region which allowed the deeper convection to develop notable rotation.  Hence, this allowed for the development of a sizable tornado just offshore from Biscayne Bay in the vicinity of downtown Miami.

To learn more about other past historic weather events from around the world, be sure to click here!

©2017 Meteorologist Jordan Rabinowitz