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90-year-old woman weathered tornado as it raged past Clearwater Beach neighborhood

By Evyn Moon
Published  October 12, 2023 4:54pm EDT
Clearwater
FOX 13 News

Tornado spawns in Clearwater, causes major damage

The tornado’s 110 mph winds smashed windows and ripped off roofs. A 90-year-old woman survived the severe weather alone, according to her daughter.

CLEARWATER BEACH, Fla. - Clearwater Beach officials are still working to clean up the debris and assess damage after an EF-2 tornado ripped through a residential area in the early morning Thursday.

The Florida Weather Service confirmed the storm’s 110-mile-per-hour winds caused severe destruction, including smashed windows, torn roofs, and downed trees. The winds were even powerful enough to throw the back porch of one home into the front yard. Clearwater Police have confirmed that no one was injured. 

MORE STORM COVERAGE: National Weather Service confirms EF-1 tornado touched down near Clearwater Beach

Local residents were alerted of the threat by an emergency notification to their phones around 2:00 a.m. Clearwater Fire Rescue responded, helping people get out. 

Storm damage in Clearwater Beach following tornado

The National Weather Service confirmed an EF-1 tornado touched down on Clearwater Beach overnight with winds of about 110 mph.

A 90-year-old woman who lives in one of the houses damaged -- and now deemed uninhabitable -- weathered the storm by herself overnight. 

"She was in bed asleep, and she awoke because there was rain on her face. [The tornado] had blown through her windows and door by her bed, and glass was flying on top of her, so she put a pillow over her head and covers over her head until it all stopped," Jodi Sibson said, the daughter of the 90-year-old resident. "She weathered it out [which was] amazing. But she was ground zero."

The Florida Weather Service was on the ground surveying the damage and warned that this is an El Niño winter, so there might be more severe weather in the Tampa Bay area in the coming months. 

"Make sure you are staying weather aware and that you have multiple ways to receive a warning," Jennifer Hubbard with the Florida Weather Service warns. "Especially because these tend to come in the overnight hours, for some reason, so have a way to get that warning that will wake you up and allow you to get to safety."

Clearwater Police Department’s Public Information Officer Rob Shaw says it is a miracle there were no injuries. 

"We are extremely grateful and thankful that no one was injured. This could have been a lot worse. To have a bedroom collapse on top of a 90-year-old woman in bed and come out unscathed is just miraculous."