Crane, trees toppled by strong wind and storms across Bay Area
TAMPA, Fla. - Strong winds and severe weather caused damage across the Bay Area Thursday afternoon and evening. Tampa Electric Company and Duke Energy were reporting tens of thousands of customers without power in Hillsborough and Pinellas counties.
A crane collapsed about a mile before the Roosevelt Boulevard exit on Interstate 275 in Pinellas County around 10:30 p.m. FOX 13's Jordan Bowen was one of the first to approach the scene.
Another crane appeared to be damaged in downtown Tampa's Channelside district, but officials later said it was left that way on purpose.
On Oakdale Terrace in Seminole, one person suffered minor injuries when part of their house collapsed under a falling tree, officials with Seminole Fire Rescue told FOX 13's Briona Arradondo.
In Pinellas Park, near the Harley Davidson dealership on 49th Avenue, Bryan Sheurger took a photo of signs blown down by high winds.
The National Weather Service issued a tornado warning for parts of Tampa and Pinellas County until 11:15 p.m. and a tornado watch for all of central Florida until 3 a.m. Friday. Severe thunderstorm warnings were issued for Citrus, Hernando, Hillsborough, Pasco, and Pinellas counties until 11 p.m. Thursday.
Street signs blown down in Pinellas Park (Bryan Sheurger)
Even before the watch was issued, damaging winds brought down trees and closed some roadways and bridges from Inverness down to Interstate 10 in North Florida.
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Gusts out of the southwest reached 40 miles per hour in some spots, forcing the closure of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge around 5 p.m. through the evening.
The windy weather came ahead of a line of strong storms moving east from the Gulf of Mexico Thursday night. FOX 13 meteorologists warned minor flooding along the coast was possible.
Rain began to fall in northern Bay Area counties around 9:30 p.m. but before the rain, wind was the main issue for the Bay Area.
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In Spring Hill, an elderly woman was hospitalized after a large tree halved her mobile home at Tall Pines Mobile Home Park.
In Holiday, a tree caused serious damage to a parked car on Dorsal Drive.
Dorsal Drive, Holiday, Florida (Chip and Christine Irons)
Emergency management officials in Hardee County posted pictures on Facebook of downed power lines on SR 62 in Duette.
The Florida Highway Patrol closed a portion of Interstate 10 in Madison County early Thursday evening because dust from recently mowed fields left drivers with near-zero visibility.
A couple of dedicated Pasco County workers made sure no damage was done to the American flag. A Pasco County Sheriff’s Office deputy spotted the man struggling to take down the flag, so he stopped to help.