Early morning storms leave path of damage from Tampa Bay into north Florida. No injuries reported
CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP) — A storm system that moved across parts of Florida early Thursday left a path of damage to cars, houses and businesses, authorities said.
Police in Clearwater, which is on Florida’s Gulf Coast near Tampa, said in a social media post that no injuries were reported when two possible tornadoes touched down around 2 a.m. Thursday. Photos shared by the agency showed gutters from a home that pierced the windshield of a car.
The storms moved north into Citrus County, where officials canceled public school classes for the day.
“The west side of Citrus County has experienced significant damage from an unconfirmed tornado(s) which hit the area overnight,” school officials said in a Facebook post shortly after 6 a.m. Thursday.
Deputies were directing traffic Thursday morning due to multiple road closures caused by the storm, the Citrus County Sheriff’s Office said on social media. A portion of U.S Highway 19, which is a major thoroughfare through the mostly rural county, was closed due to storm damage.
Photos posted by the sheriff’s office showed debris on roads, local flooding and damage to mobile homes.
Some tornado watches remained in effect Thursday morning across parts of central and north Florida.