Tornado touches down in Bird Road neighborhood

A Bird Road neighborhood was rocked a bit Saturday afternoon when a tornado touched down.

The brief tornado landed in a residential block just northeast of the intersection of Bird Road and Southwest 97th Avenue in Miami, about two miles southeast of the Tamiami Fairgrounds at about 1:20 p.m., said Chuck Caracozza, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

There was some damage associated with the weak tornado, Caracozza said. The twister did some roof damage, a few small trees were snapped, a row of wooden fencing lay twisted between yards, and a rainwater pipe flew off a house and landed in a swale.

No injuries, he said.

South Florida will be dealing with heavy rains this afternoon through tonight, the National Weather Service said. “There could be a couple strong thunderstorms, mainly through the evening hours,” Caracozza said.

The National Weather Service later issued a tornado warning for West Palm Beach, Boynton Beach and Greenacres until 6 p.m.

All of this nasty business is the result of a tropical depression that became Tropical Storm Philippe later in the afternoon. The weather is affecting Cuba, South Florida and the Bahamas.

This story was originally published October 28, 2017 at 4:53 PM with the headline "Tornado touches down in Bird Road neighborhood."