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. ET. 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."
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 is expected to conduct a damage survey on Sunday to determine the strength and path of the tornado.
There were several reports of other severe weather across the Sunshine State on Saturday, including funnel clouds, a water spout 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.
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