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6 tornadoes touched down in Tampa Bay area last week: National Weather Service

By FOX 13 News Staff
Published  October 18, 2023 2:29pm EDT
Tampa
FOX 13 News

Pinellas county cleanup post tornado

Some of the century old landscaping in Pinellas County is gone after a tornado came on shore early Thursday morning. Residents expect cleanup to take weeks.

TAMPA, Fla. - Six tornadoes touched down in the Tampa Bay area, according to a new update from the National Weather Service, during a stretch of severe weather last week.

In addition to the two EF-2 tornadoes documented in Pinellas County and Citrus County, four EF-0 tornadoes were documented in the surrounding area. 

According to NWS, EF-0 tornadoes touched down in Sarasota, Oldsmar, Trinity, and Clearwater. None of them exceeded 0.5 miles in length.

Damage after tornado in Crystal River

Officials say the west end of the county suffered significant damage in the storms and emergency officials are in several parts of Crystal River where there are downed power lines, trees, debris and flooding.

Originally, a tornado was reported in Clearwater moving to Dunedin, as well as another EF-2 tornado in Crystal River in the early morning hours of October 12. They reached maximum winds of 115 and 125 mph, respectively. 

The peak wind strength of the four EF-0 tornadoes was 85 mph.