PEMBROKE PINES, Fla. — As Hurricane Ian drew closer to Florida's peninsula Tuesday night, a likely tornado overturned some aircraft at a small Broward County airport.
Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport tweeted around 9:30 p.m. that a tornado caused "damage to several small lanes and some hangars" at North Perry Airport in Pembroke Pines.
"As a precaution, #HWO will be temporarily closed until further notice to fully asses the damages sustained," the airport continued.
Twitter account "Total Traffic Miami" said that "over 15 planes" were damaged, although the exact number has yet to be confirmed by airport officials.
Tornadoes can and do occur from tropical systems. Hurricane Ian was a Category 3 storm when the airport first confirmed that planes were damaged — storms within its outer bands are capable of producing tornadoes.
The storm is bringing significant threats to areas of Tampa Bay and Florida's Gulf Coast that don't normally see such headlines, but they're worth acting upon: Life-threatening storm surge and catastrophic winds and flooding are expected, the National Hurricane Center said.
