March 1983 South Florida tornado outbreak El Niño. The Everglades–Lighthouse Point tornado featured the second-longest path recorded south of Lake Okeechobee; only one tornado in 1968 featured a longer path of in southern Florida. March 1983 South Florida tornado outbreak The March 1983 South Florida tornado outbreak was a significant severe weather event that affected the southern Florida peninsula, including the Miami metropolitan area, on March 17, 1983. A total of at least five tornadoes affected the region as many as 17 were reported, only two were confirmed in the official National Weather Service records. The strongest tornado produced F2 damage on the Fujita scale and
Effects of the 1928 Okeechobee hurricane in Florida National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). The death toll was by far highest in the economically poor areas in the low-lying ground right around Lake Okeechobee, such as Belle Glade, Chosen, Miami Locks, Pahokee, and South Bay. Around 75% of the fatalities were among migrant farm workers, most of whom were African American. The African American men were ordered at gunpoint to collect bodies. One man was shot for refusing to do so. Despite Prohibition laws at the time, those searching and collecting bodies were given rations of bootleg whisky, which was provided by a local rum-runner.