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ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. Four tornadoes reportedly fell on Friday afternoon in Bay area counties, as a series of violent thunderstorms moved quickly across the region and into the state.
What appears to be an EF-1 tornado was shot down Friday afternoon in New Port Richey, part of a long series of storms that destroyed the roofs, felled trees and left thousands of people without electricity.
Tornadoes have also been confirmed at Spring Hill in Hernando County, at Seminole in Pinellas County and at Land O 'Lakes in Pasco County. Damage has been reported in houses in the Larendale Circle. About seventeen houses were damaged by the roof.
At Seminole, it was planned to open at least two shelters for residents affected by storm damage at home.
A total of 14 tornado warnings were issued on Friday afternoon.
At 12:30, 449 TECO customers were without electricity. | Check the fault card
Between 500 and 2,000 Duke Energy customers are without electricity, mainly in Pinellas County. | Check the fault card
Areas severely affected by storms
Some of the worst damage reported came from Hernando County, where at least 20 houses were damaged.
Residents of Spring Hill said the weather had started as a regular storm in the afternoon and that they realized that they would then run for cover.
"We literally felt like we were in a blender, mixing food, strawberries, bananas and BOOM came out of nowhere," said Devan Kirland.
Kirland said the tornado had torn his porch and removed parts of his roof.
"The damage has been fast and very expensive now," said Kirland.
Another resident of Spring Hill said he was shocked to learn that a tornado had pbaded.
"We did not hear that as if a train was coming in, so we said it could not be a tornado, and when we went out, we were shocked to see on the other side of the road. street everything that had been damaged, our side had almost nothing, "Jane Daley said.
Laurie Davison, a reporter for Spectrum Bay News 9, said she had seen blue tarps on people's homes while shingles had been ripped off. She also saw a lot of trees in the courtyards, even at the top of some houses.
Mitchell Wajda, a resident of Seminole, said the storm had swept his roof and that most of his belongings were now in ruins.
"Because of the rain, everything is wet, wet, no matter how tall the cupboards are, they are piled up in piles, a lot of damage," said Wajda.
Wajda ended up staying in one of the Red Cross shelters open Friday night, located in the Lutheran Christian Church of St. Pete. And despite her own loss, Wajda is always worried about others.
"I am so sorry for so many people because there is a lot of damage," he said.
Seminole's John Zimmerman also said that his mobile home inside Conrad Mobile Park had been badly damaged.
"The wind started to blow, it looked like a freight train and I heard a pile of metal collapse," he said. "I was looking out the window and the wind was blowing so fast, it would have thrown someone on the ground, I could feel the trailer shaking."
The National Weather Service said seven homes in the 3,400 block of Player Drive in the Fairway Springs subdivision were damaged.
Neighbors said the current was cut during the storms.
"I know that there are several elderly ladies here, so I came to make sure everyone was fine and that's the most important thing.You can get your house back, you can not recover a human being, "said Linda Maxwell, resident and president of HOA. .
Friday's thunderstorms were so severe that they shot down several trees and tore up several lanaes at Linda Langheld's house.
"Some of the branches went through the bathroom windows and the rest was upstairs," said Langheld.
Langheld was not at home at the time of the storm, but suffered heavy damage.
"We did a lot to improve the property and update it and it was not part of our restoration plans," said Langheld.
In the same neighborhood, Kathy Schrader was in town to visit her sister when she heard the tornado warnings.
"The rain was falling to the side and the branches were blowing, then we heard a big kaboom," said Schrader.
This loud sound was another big tree that split into the front yard. Fortunately, most branches have fallen forward.
"We had neighbors, firefighters, police and now cleaners, so we are very lucky," said Schrader.
Barn lands on the car
Maryann Plattner, 73, was unlucky enough to have had her neighbor's neighbor's barn land on her car.
In her 43 years of living in her home near State Route 60, Plattner said she had never seen anything like it.
Amazing storm damage near # plantcity. The neighbor's barn landed on top of an elderly woman's house. She hopes that someone will come to help clean up the mess. Watch the story on @ BN9 tonight. pic.twitter.com/WeCiuavtON
– Stephanie Claytor (@ClaytorReports) November 3, 2018
She survived seven heart attacks and she almost had another one watching the storage barn fly over the fence and come straight to her.
"I was standing there, and the wind was catching it over the fence, e and I thought to myself:" Please, Lord, do not let that touch my car. Stroke. It went, "said Plattner.
To make matters worse, a tree branch fell into his garden, destroying his mosquito net room, his new outdoor furniture and his fence.
Only one neighboring house suffered minor damage.
Plattner hopes that help will be provided as soon as possible. A flawless stay
– Stephanie Claytor, journalist
Effects of Polk County
Friday's storm caused the pine trees to split in the Mulberry area of Pine Lake.
Winds were blowing at 60 miles at the nearby Lakeland Linder International Airport, but if one looks at the damage done, the people of Pine Lake believe that a funnel cloud has crossed them.
"When that happened, I thought," Oh, it's just another storm, "until I look in my room and the trees at the back are break, "said resident Kathy Goodwin.
"In fact, it scared me more than Irma got to cross at a speed of 125 km / h on my house. I was prepared for Irma. But I had the warning about (the storm) at the same time he hit the house, "added Goodwin.
– Stephanie Claytor, journalist
Central Florida effects
As the line of storms headed east, the people of Lake County also felt its effects. The strong winds cut down the trees, which was the reason for the power lines.
One of these fallen power lines caused a fire at the intersection of Buckhill Road at Howey Cross Road near Clermont.
One owner we spoke to said that he could only watch the moment when trees and branches fell in his garden, causing damage to his home.
"I was looking through the window and the door and saw him coming down," said Umadat Persaud. "But just look and give up."
The power lines that went out of service left some Lake County residents without power for several hours.
Click on the link to see some of our timestamped updates during Friday's storm.
7 day forecast
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