Power outages cascaded through much of South Florida and many other parts of the state Tuesday, causing major disruptions in many corners of the state.
About 680,000 customers were without power, according to Florida Power & Light, though some service was being restored after an hour or so. State officials said that more than two million customers were in the dark.
Meanwhile, a severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado was reported near Port Everglades shortly before 2 p.m. Residents of nearby communities were warned to take shelter.
Both of the nuclear reactors at FPL's Turkey Point facility, as well as two oil-burning plants, tripped off unexpectedly Tuesday, according to Ken Clark, a spokesman for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's regional office in Atlanta.