Residents cleaning up after tornado touches down in St. Petersburg
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - After an afternoon of wicked weather, residents in Southern Pinellas County are beginning to pick up the pieces.
A brief tornado touched down around 4:20 p.m. near 6th Street South in St. Petersburg.
According to the National Weather Service, the EF-0 tornado lasted less than one minute and reached peak wind gusts of 82 miles per hour.
A tree fell onto a car during a strong line of storms that passed through the Bay Area on Tuesday.
It ripped off the roof of one apartment building and tore down power lines.
PHOTOS: Severe weather leaves damage throughout Tampa Bay
On Wednesday morning, debris was still on the ground with pieces of the roof scattered around. The debris was even hanging from telephone poles and power lines.
Two buildings in the apartment complex, which is just south of downtown St. Petersburg have been condemned.
Two buildings in a St. Pete apartment complex have been condemned after a tornado touched down on Tuesday.
Crews with the fire department are keeping people out of the building not only because of the power issues, but also because of the missing roof.
Video: Tornado causes damage after touching down in Panama City Beach
One resident told FOX 13 that he heard the alerts coming through and went into a closet for shelter. He says shortly afterward he lost power, and the storm was so loud that he couldn’t tell what else was happening around him.
Several other Pinellas County neighborhoods also experienced damage from Tuesday’s storms.
Trees were toppled, cars were crushed, and powerlines were down in parts of Gulfport. Many residents believe a tornado touched down there as well, but nothing has been confirmed.
READ: Shore Acres residents fed up with flooding take matters into their own hands: ‘We need solutions’
"I believe it totally was a tornado, for the way it sounds and all of a sudden, the darkness and the hail… those are evidence of a tornado," said Cindy Organtini, a Gulfport resident. "It looks like it traveled along the street taking out branches and trees. This was a sudden, isolated disruption, severe and sudden."
Tuesday's storms knocked down trees and spread debris.
She added, "This no-name storm is more damage than we’ve seen with any hurricane. I heard it really loud. We were reading on the couch, and I jumped up to the window and everything was flying around. I saw the tree come down [on our house], and backed up from the window and knew it was quite serious," said one mother in the neighborhood.
Another area of concern Wednesday morning was the damage the storm did to the dunes along the Pinellas County coastline, which were in the process of being restored following Hurricane Idalia. Crews are expected to assess the damage after daylight breaks.