ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (WSVN) — A tornado tore through a city near Tampa, uprooting trees and ripping off rooftops, as nasty weather that swept across America made its way to the Sunshine State.
The line of severe storms wreaked havoc across Central Florida, Thursday.
Residents in St. Petersburg had reported a possible tornado that touched down in the Tampa Bay area.
Meteorologists later confirmed it was an EF-1 tornado.
Aerials showed severe damage left on people’s backyards.
Fences were seen littering people’s yards as well as swing sets and other debris.
Area resident Lyn Alvarado said she was doing work at her kitchen table when she realized this wasn’t an average afternoon thunderstorm.
“I just noticed it got really, really dark, and it kind of felt like pressure on the inside of the house,” she said. “I thought ‘tornado’ immediately. I called for my husband, and he came out, and we just noticed that everything was [out of place], and [the tornado] went straight across the lake.”
Some residents also reported massive oak trees that were dangerously close to falling onto their homes.
Police escorted students out of a local preschool after a tree fell on their building. Thankfully, the room where the tree fell was unoccupied at the time.
The strong winds shredded the aluminum awning off of a 7-Eleven in the Town of Spring Hill, which is north of Tampa. Debris rained down, damaging cars parked on the property.
Sping Hill resident Selena Miara, who was driving by the 7-Eleven, said the same location was hit by severe weather six months ago.
The owners of the convenience store had recently made repairs, but on Thursday afternoon, Mother Nature threw a second punch.
“I mean, to a tee, the same exact damage happened, so I don’t know if it just wasn’t repaired that great or what, but literally, the same exact thing happened,” said Miara.
Widespread outages were also reported across the area.
According to experts, the wicked weather is part of a cold front that’s bringing heavy rain to the Tampa Bay area as it moves across the state.
No injuries were reported.
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