1925 Miami tornado

Severe weather event in South Florida May 2025 February 2025 1925 Miami tornado 1.jpg The tornado as seen from the southwest April 5, 1925, 1:00 p.m. EST (UTC−05:00) April 5, 1925, 2:00 p.m. EST (UTC−05:00) 12 mi km on ~440 yd m on atl F3 F3 equiv. tornado 3 FU Satellite tornadoes 1925 5 35 $250,000 ($ in US USD)All losses are in 1925 United States dollars unless otherwise noted. Hialeah northern Miami Little River Biscayne Park Arch Creek, Dade County, Florida tornadoes and tornado outbreaks of 1925 On Sunday, April 5, 1925, an intense tornado hit the northern edge of Miami in South Florida, killing five people and injuring 35. The deadliest tornado to affect Dade County, it was rated F3 on the Fujita scaleA group of scientists under Ted Fujita invented the scale in the early 1970s, prior to which no official rating method existed in the United States.Grazulis 1993 141Grazulis 2001 131 Events that arose before the use of the scale by the National Weather Service gained ratings in hindsight.Edwards LaDue Ferree Scharfenberg 641–642 While since replaced in the U.S. by the Enhanced Fujita scale as of February 1, 2007,Edwards Roger Enhanced F Scale for Tornado Damage http://www.spc.noaa.gov/faq/tornado/ef-scale.html The Online Tornado FAQ (by Roger Edwards, SPC) Storm Prediction Center February 25, 2016 March 5, 2015 it was in use in Canada until April 1, 2013;Enhanced Fujita Scale (EF-Scale) https://www.ec.gc.ca/meteo-weather/default.asp?lang=En&n=41E875DA-1 Environment and Climate Change Canada Environment and Climate Change Canada February 25, 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160303220706/http://www.ec.gc.ca/meteo-weather/default.asp?lang=En&n=41E875DA-1 March 3, 2016 June 6, 2013 dead other nations, including the United Kingdom, employ alternate schemes such as the TORRO scale.The International Tornado Intensity Scale http://www.torro.org.uk/tscale.php Tornado and Storm Research Organisation Tornado and Storm Research Organisation February 25, 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160305120332/http://www.torro.org.uk/tscale.php March 5, 2016 2016 dead —one of only two such tornadoes recorded with that intensity.Tornadoes in the United States were unrated before 1971.Grazulis 1993 141Grazulis 2001 131 Ratings were retroactively applied to events prior to the formal adoption of the F-scale by the National Weather Service. While official ratings extended back to 1950, tornado expert Thomas P. Grazulis rated older events.Edwards LaDue Ferree Scharfenberg 641–643 It was one of a select few Florida tornadoes to claim three or more lives. About 200 yd m on wide,For the width the average/mean is used. Most tornado widths listed from 1952–1994 are mean values, whereas maxima are used in contemporary years.Agee Childs 1494 Data given by Grazulis are approximate averages (i.e., 0.5 mi km on is adjusted from 880 yards to 800 yards).Brooks 310Grazulis 1990 ix it formed over the Everglades near Hialeah and moved northeast, toward the Atlantic Ocean, destroying about 75 homes, with losses of $250,000. Over 500 people lost their homes, and five fatalities were reported, along with 35 injuries. The first tornado seen by weather officials in Miami since 1919, it coexisted with at least three satellite tornadoes and may have been a tornado family. Huge hail accompanied the tornado as well. Climatological background Tornadoes are more densely packed in Florida than any other U.S. state, as shown by rates per 10,000 mi2 km2 on on.Tornadoes https://climatecenter.fsu.edu/topics/tornadoes Florida Climate Center Florida State University 19 July 2025 Tallahassee, Florida Most are weak, brief, thin, and rarely fatal, causing fewer deaths than their amount or human population imply.Donegan Brian 2022-03-21 Where are tornadoes most common? https://www.foxweather.com/learn/average-number-tornadoes-every-state 2025-05-12 FOX Weather en-USWinsberg 1990 68–70 Only 0.7% attain the strongest, or violent (E/F4+), tier, versus 2.7% in Tornado Alley.Winsberg 2003 90 Strong (E/F2+) or intense (E/F3+) events rarely hit South Florida,Gregoria Dan http://www.srh.noaa.gov/mfl/files/MFLSVRCLIMO.pdf WFO Miami, Florida severe weather climatology NWS Forecast Office Miami - South Florida National Weather Service Miami 2008-06-01 https://web.archive.org/web/20080925134721/http://www.srh.noaa.gov/mfl/files/MFLSVRCLIMO.pdf September 25, 2008 dead tending to favor robust El Niño years,Lushine James B. http://www.srh.noaa.gov/mfl/newpage/ground_hog_day.html Summary of Severe Weather Outbreak in South Florida: February 2, 1998 NWS Forecast Office Miami - South Florida National Weather Service Miami 2008-06-09 https://web.archive.org/web/20080724143046/http://www.srh.noaa.gov/mfl/newpage/ground_hog_day.html 1 November 2005 24 July 2008 live due to elevated front and cyclone activity inducing wintertime storminess.The Florida dry season (November–April) corresponds to winter.Hagemeyer Bartlett C. Florida Dry Season Forecast and El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) https://www.weather.gov/mlb/enso_florida_climate_forecast Melbourne, FL Weather Forecast Office National Weather Service 19 July 2025 Melbourne, Florida 10 August 2010 http://innovation.srh.noaa.gov/images/mlb/pdfs/20th_AMS_El_Nino_low_pressure_storminess_severe_weather_Florida_hagemeyer.pdf Development of an index of storminess as a proxy for dry season severe weather in Florida and its relationship with ENSO Hagemeyer Barlett C. October 7, 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20140225082459/http://innovation.srh.noaa.gov/images/mlb/pdfs/20th_AMS_El_Nino_low_pressure_storminess_severe_weather_Florida_hagemeyer.pdf February 25, 2014 dead 20th Conference on Severe Local Storms National Weather Service Melbourne, Florida Orlando, Florida 2000 http://www.srh.noaa.gov/images/mlb/pdfs/SignigicantExtratropicalTornadoOccurrencesinFlorida.pdf Significant Extratropical Tornado Occurrences in Florida During Strong El Niño and Strong La Niña Events Hagemeyer Barlett C. https://web.archive.org/web/20140225082455/http://www.srh.noaa.gov/images/mlb/pdfs/SignigicantExtratropicalTornadoOccurrencesinFlorida.pdf February 25, 2014 19th Conference on Severe Local Storms October 7, 2021 Minneapolis National Weather Service Melbourne, Florida 1998 Conversely, in 1925 La Niña was ongoing. Deadly Florida tornadoes usually occur in outbreaks, or clusters,Outbreaks involve at least four to six tornadoes within defined timescales, often six-hour increments, though numbers vary by region. In Florida the lower bound fixes an outbreak, using four-hour intervals.Hagemeyer 399, 400–1, 404https://web.archive.org/web/20081016213739/http://www.srh.noaa.gov/mlb/PDFs/agnes30.pdf October 16, 2008 http://www.srh.noaa.gov/mlb/PDFs/agnes30.pdf Thirty Years After Hurricane Agnes: the Forgotten Florida Tornado Disaster Hagemeyer Bartlett C. Spratt Scott M. 2002 American Meteorological Society Melbourne, Florida San Diego, California 25th Conference on Hurricanes and Tropical Meteorology https://ams.confex.com/ams/25HURR/webprogram/25HURR.html 28 July 2025Hagemeyer 405 whereas the 1925 tornado formed singly.Gray Apart from a hurricane-borne tornado in 1919,The 1919 event was retroactively rated F2 on the Fujita scale by tornado historian Thomas P. Grazulis and caused no deaths.Grazulis 1993 765 it was also first tornado in Miami or its environs to be noted by the Weather Bureau since it opened a local office in 1911.Tornado Is Explained April 6, 1925 https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-miami-herald/177197982/ Miami Herald 15 133 2-A Newspapers.com However, many fewer tornadoes, mainly weak, were likely verified before 1950, due to lower population densities. Large tracts of South Florida, notably the Everglades, are still thinly settled,Hagemeyer 403 but with rising tornado reports over time due to more people and remote sensors used to plot tornadoes, such as modern weather radar.Agee Childs 1496Cook Schaefer 3135 Meteorological synopsis left|thumb|The tornado shortly after formation The catalyst for the tornado lay in a low-pressure area traceable to northern California that crossed the Southern United States in early April, reaching Florida's First Coast with rains over a wide swath on April 5.Disturbance Moved Across The Continent in Six Days April 5, 1925 April 6, 1925 Washington, D.C. Miami https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-miami-herald/189471463/ Miami Herald 15 133 3-A Newspapers.com A potent thunderstorm formed near Homestead, 30 mi km on below Miami, and slid northeastward,April 6, 1925 Three Perish, Heavy Damage in Tornado Near Miami, Florida https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-portsmouth-times/177200128/ Portsmouth Daily Times United Press Miami Portsmouth, Ohio 1 Newspapers.com hitting nearby towns such as Goulds, Perrine, Florida City, and Princeton. Heavy rains fell in its path, with loud thunder and vivid lightning signaling its arrival.Little Damage Reported From Neighboring Towns April 6, 1925 https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-miami-herald/189471620/ Miami Herald 15 133 3-A Newspapers.com Around 12:50 p.m. local time, players at a golf links in Hialeah noticed unique, rotary cloud motions,3 Dead; 34 Hurt April 6, 1925 https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-miami-herald/177198115/ Miami Herald 15 133 1-A Newspapers.com P. 1-A, Part 2 P. 1-A, Part 3 P. 1-A, Part 4 P. 1-A, Part 5 P. 2-A, Part 1 P. 2-A, Part 2 P. 2-A, Part 3 P. 2-A, Part 4 P. 3-A2-A depicted as a turbulent, clashing mass.29 Homes Destroyed, 4 Dead April 6, 1925 https://www.newspapers.com/article/miami-tribune/189486230/ Miami Tribune 2 52 1-A Newspapers.com P. 1-A, Part 2 P. 3-A, Part 1 P. 3-A, Part 21-A About 10 minutes later,Gray 145 a cone-like funnel cloud descended on the course,1-A preceded by baseball-sized hail. Weather Bureau official Richard W. Gray traced its origin to the Everglades,Gray 145 as did other observers including Hialeah Herald editor J. W. Wendler.1-A$10,000 Given by Elks to Aid Relief Plans April 6, 1925 https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-miami-news/164495056/ Miami Daily News 30 113 A-1 Newspapers.com P. A-1, Part 2 P. A-2A-2 The storm seemingly emerged along an outflow boundary within the prevailing air flow, as shown by station data from Miami.Gray 146 It tracked as far as Fort Lauderdale, striking the communities of Hialeah, Lemon City, Little River, Biscayne Park, and Ojus. Attendant hail lasted 10–15 minutes, coating the ground with fist-sized stones in places such as Miami Shores.2-A Tornado summary left 20% I saw the roof of a building over by the golf course lifted straight into the air and carried at least 200 feet away. There was a terrific bang, as if there had been an explosion inside the house. It was as if a huge high-speed derrick had slung the roof off. Arthur PryorApril 6, 1925 Story of the tornado as told by Arthur Pryor https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-miami-herald-story-of-the-tornado-as/130194207/ Miami Herald 15 133 Miami 1 Newspapers.com Tornadogenesis took place over the Hialeah municipal golf course near 1:00 p.m.1-A Writing in the Monthly Weather Review, Gray noted that it resembled a "very slender cone extending in a straight line" from cloud to ground.Gray 145 The tornado first unroofed a shed, hurled a few trucks, and snagged a clubhouse post. Pieces of the roof were found 300 yd m on away, and a mule was fatally blown into the side of its pen. A roller and wagons were tossed onto fairways. Flying debris injured a caddy, but not gravely.2—3-A Heading northeast, the tornado tore stables,2-A roofs, and shrubbery.1-A As it swirled past, many thousand people swarmed the area in vehicles to approach the slow-moving funnel, piqued by its high visibility and threatening skies. Due to heavy traffic, multiple vehicle collisions occurred. Seen around for miles,1–2-AGray 145 the tornado averaged 20 mi/h km/h on at times,A-2 with an erratic, undulating motion that kindled rumors of multiple tornado.Gray 146 Up to four tornadoes were alleged, with as many as seven funnel sightings.2–3-A A waterspout formed on Biscayne Bay at the same time as the tornado.1-A The tornado repeatedly skipped, damaging scattered areas. One area was near the Miami Canal, where the tornado seemed to unravel and redevelop.1–2-A +Tornado deaths Name Age Source(s)F. E. ("Red") Sullivan 35 1-AJohn Watson Simpson 8 Tornado Dead and Injured April 6, 1925 https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-miami-news-tornado-injury/184923982/ Miami Daily News 30 113 1 Newspapers.com Mathilda Schultz 70 1-AMrs. John T. Simpson Gray 146Grazulis 1993 797 It then hit the White Belt Dairy,1–2-A the state's biggest in 1925. Most casualties ensued there,1–2-A along with losses over $200,000,A-1 the worst in the storm area.1–2-A Heavy debris, such as lumber, was churned up over a 1/2 mi km on radius by swirling winds, turning the farm into a "scrambled mess of everything", according to the Miami Herald. Furniture, utensils, and woodchips cluttered the ground. Vehicles were mangled and tossed up to 1/4 mi km on away; listed as totaled were five cars and 10 motor trucks. Fierce winds leveled a mess hall, an apartment, and four frame homes. A barn roof was partly peeled off, and another barn sustained damage. Three cows were airborne for 50 ft m on at a height of 15 ft m on but survived uninjured.April 6, 1925 Dairy farm hit https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-miami-herald/177197941/ Miami Herald 15 133 Miami 1-A Newspapers.com P. 2-A, Part 1 P. 2-A, Part 2 P. 2-A, Part 3 Five others went missing, two died of wounds, and two more were so badly maimed that they were shot.A-1 Flying debris fatally hospitalized a woman, and other people suffered severe injuries. A police cordon kept away hundreds of gawkers. Wrapped in smoky debris clouds, the tornado halted briefly at the dairy, then resumed its course.Gray 146 A nearby restaurant was leveled, killing a man, and a cookstove was tossed 100 yd m on.Grazulis 1990 191Grazulis 1993 797 thumb|left|Wreckage at the White Belt Dairy after the tornado The tornado then hit Elizabeth Park, leveling roughly 10 homes, leaving homesites bare, and killing hundreds of chickens. One house lost its combination roof and garage. A dozen more homes were destroyed in nearby Hillside Acres, with only three others intact. Multiple homes were carried at least 300 ft m on,1-A, 2-A along with a barn.2-A Near Little River, the tornado flattened a large, vacant frame home and the Westwood Inn,2-A1-A killing two people at the inn.April 6, 1925 Florida Tornado Takes Toll of 4 Lives on Sunday https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-la-crosse-tribune/177200563/ La Crosse Tribune Associated Press 20 324 1 Newspapers.com One other death occurred nearby.1 Six other homes were struck as well,A-2 one of which was tossed into another house, shattering a brick wall.2-A As it crossed northern Miami, the funnel widened to about 1/4 mi km on,A-2 becoming rain-obscured over time.Gray 146 In Biscayne Park, it destroyed three homes and damaged a few automobiles. A newly-built, two-story stucco home lost most of its walls,1–2-A and large roof pieces were entangled in trees. The tornado also uprooted large trees.3-A After destroying some power poles,Gray 146 the tornado moved out over Biscayne Bay near Arch Creek and was no longer sighted.3-A1-A Its 12 mi km on path lasted about an hour,Gray 146 with a mean width of 200 yd m on.A-2 Aftermath right|thumb|Wreckage in Hialeah after the storm Along its path the tornado killed five people and injured 35 others.Grazulis 1993 797 It tore apart 75 homes, including about 25 in or near Elizabeth Park,1-A, 2-A leaving more than 500 people homeless.A-1 Property losses totaled $250,000,Grazulis 1993 797 with cleanup costs of about $1 million. The Miami Order of Elks loaned $10,000 in relief aid, and 100 workers cleared debris at the White Belt Dairy. The aftermath drew as many as 30,000 sightseers a day.A-1 Many cars were stranded by motorists and wrecked during the storm.Gray 146 Based on damage photographs, the tornado is estimated to have been an F3 on the Fujita scale,Grazulis 1993 797 the only other such tornado to hit Miami having occurred in 1959. To date it is the only deadly tornado to strike Dade County, belonging to a small group of tornadoes that have killed three or more people in Florida.Grazulis Thomas P. Grazulis Doris The United States' Worst Tornadoes http://www.tornadoproject.com/alltorns/worstts.htm The Tornado Project Environmental Films 3 February 2022 https://web.archive.org/web/20080514002740/http://www.tornadoproject.com/alltorns/worstts.htm 14 May 2008 St. Johnsbury, Vermont 26 April 2000 See also List of North American tornadoes and tornado outbreaks 1997 Miami tornado – A much weaker tornado which was also quite visible that hit the same area Notes References Citations 2 Sources Ernest M. Agee Samuel Childs Adjustments in Tornado Counts, F-Scale Intensity, and Path Width for Assessing Significant Tornado Destruction Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology June 1, 2014 53 6 1494–1505 10.1175/JAMC-D-13-0235.1 2014JApMC..53.1494A American Meteorological Society free https://journals.ametsoc.org/view/journals/apme/53/6/jamc-d-13-0235.1.xml Agee Childs Brooks Harold E. Harold E. Brooks On the Relationship of Tornado Path Length and Width to Intensity Weather and Forecasting April 2004 19 2 310–19 10.1175/1520-0434(2004)019<0310:OTROTP>2.0.CO;2 free 2004WtFor..19..310B Brooks Cook A. R. Schaefer J. T. The Relation of El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) to Winter Tornado Outbreaks Monthly Weather Review August 2008 136 8 3121–3137 10.1175/2007MWR2171.1 free 2008MWRv..136.3121C Cook Schaefer Roger Edwards James G. LaDue John T. Ferree Kevin Scharfenberg Chris Maier William L. Coulbourne Roger Edwards (meteorologist) Tornado Intensity Estimation: Past, Present, and Future Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society May 1, 2013 94 5 641–653 10.1175/BAMS-D-11-00006.1 free American Meteorological Society https://journals.ametsoc.org/view/journals/bams/94/5/bams-d-11-00006.1.xml 3 Edwards LaDue Ferree Scharfenberg Gray Richard W. 1925 http://docs.lib.noaa.gov/rescue/mwr/053/mwr-053-04-0145.pdf The Tornado of April 5, 1925, near Miami, Fla. 2008-06-01 https://web.archive.org/web/20120308031347/http://docs.lib.noaa.gov/rescue/mwr/053/mwr-053-04-0145.pdf March 8, 2012 10.1175/1520-0493(1925)53<145:TTOANM>2.0.CO;2 free 1925MWRv...53..145G 145–146 Monthly Weather Review United States Weather Bureau Miami Washington, D.C. 53 4 American Meteorological Society Gray Grazulis Thomas P. Significant Tornadoes 1880–1989 November 1990 https://archive.org/details/significanttorna0002thom registration The Tornado Project of Environmental Films St. Johnsbury, Vermont 1-879362-02-3 2 Internet Archive Grazulis Thomas P. Significant Tornadoes 1680–1991: A Chronology and Analysis of Events July 1993 The Tornado Project of Environmental Films St. Johnsbury, Vermont 1-879362-03-1 1 Internet Archive Grazulis Thomas P. The Tornado: Nature's Ultimate Windstorm https://archive.org/details/tornadonaturesul0000graz registration 2001 University of Oklahoma Press Norman 978-0-8061-3538-0 1 Internet Archive Hagemeyer Bartlett C. Peninsular Florida Tornado Outbreaks Weather and Forecasting September 1997 12 3 399–426 Boston American Meteorological Society 10.1175/1520-0434(1997)012<0399:PFTO>2.0.CO;2 1997WtFor..12..399H free https://zenodo.org/record/1234629 Zenodo Hagemeyer Winsberg Morton D. 1990 1st Florida Weather University of Central Florida Press Orlando, Florida https://archive.org/details/floridaweather0000wins/ registration 0-8130-0989-8 Internet Archive Winsberg Morton D. 2003 1990 2nd Florida Weather University Press of Florida Gainesville https://archive.org/details/floridaweather0000wins_u3s2/ registration 0-8130-2684-9 1 1925-04-05 04-05 M 1925-04-05 Miami Tornado, 1925 Miami tornado Category:April 1925 in the United States