A short video has circulated on TikTok and has since been reposted widely on X, claiming to show a massive tornado forming over the ocean and making landfall on a Florida beach. However, our review found this claim to be false.
Social Media Posts
Multiple users shared a short video claiming it shows a recent tornado on a Florida beach. The video has gained over 1 million views on X.
Fact Check
No corroborating official weather reporting for a “Miami Beach tornado” event
We did not find reliable reporting from official sources or major news outlets documenting a tornado making landfall on a Florida beach in the manner shown in the clip. A tornado or large waterspout hitting a densely populated beach area would normally leave multiple forms of verification: National Weather Service (NWS) warnings or statements, storm reports logged by meteorological agencies, and rapid coverage by credible local media.
The NWS Miami office’s beach surf forecast products around the period referenced in the posts include explicit “waterspout risk” language for South Florida beaches. For example, an NWS Miami surf forecast product covering Miami Beach and nearby areas lists “Waterspout risk” as “None,” which is not consistent with the dramatic “tornado on the beach” scenario shown in the viral clip.
Separately, NWS Miami “current hazards” products for the Miami Beach area during mid-December show routine coastal hazard messaging (such as rip current statements) rather than tornado or severe thunderstorm warnings that would be expected during a tornado landfall incident. (Source: NWS, NCEI)
Origin of the video and AI disclosure
We traced the viral clip back to its earliest identifiable source on social media: the TikTok account @hahabeasty, which uploaded the same video since December, 9.
https://www.tiktok.com/@hahabeasty/video/7581561204653509908
The video upload has been labeled as AI-generated and the caption explicitly suggests that the clip was generated using AI, and the user also shared the prompt they used in the caption.
Additionally, a video analysis report by Hive Moderation indicates the media is 98.9% likely to be AI-generated, further confirming that this video is not authentic documentation of a real weather event.
Conclusion
The claim that a massive tornado or waterspout made landfall on a Florida beach is false. The viral video was AI-generated content, as explicitly disclosed by its original creator on TikTok, and further confirmed by AI detection analysis showing a 98.9% likelihood of artificial generation. No credible meteorological reports, National Weather Service warnings, or news coverage corroborate such an event occurring in Florida.
Title:Viral Video of Tornado on Florida Beach is AI-Generated, Not Real
Fact Check By: Cielito WangResult: False
