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 moccasins. Belle Glade suffered the most deaths of any city by far, with 611 fatalities confirmed. After the dike at Lake Okeechobee failed, water reached at least above ground in portions of Belle Glade. At the Glades Hotel, water entered the lobby and rose so rapidly that the last two people to reach the second floor nearly drowned in the stairwell. The Glades Hotel was the only building in the city left intact. The first floor of the Belle Glade Hotel was also flooded, forcing the occupants up to the second floor. They were then exposed to the wind and