Vicious storms kill 14 in Florida
Feb 2nd, 2007 by Michelle
Last night was a whole lot of fun. NOT! I didn’t realize how bad it was until this morning. My dog was going crazy night, I just thought it was a bad storm.
Torrential rains, gusty winds and plenty of lightning rolled through the Bay area Friday morning as a deadly storm system cut a swath across Florida.
Also, a tornado touched down in Sumter County, causing power outages, damaging trees and debris that stretched into neighboring Lake County and the retirement community, The Villages.
Officials have said 14 people were killed in Lake and Volusia counties as a result of the storm. Thousands are without power, including about 6,000 in some of the Bay area’s northern counties and some in St. Petersburg.
The early-morning storm system swept across the state, bringing the stormy conditions. Some areas saw strong showers, along with lightning and blustery winds up to 40 mph.
The batch of heavy weather, courtesy of the fast-moving system, hit Citrus County hard, causing some minor flooding along the coastal areas. South Pinellas and the beaches saw strong storms as well.
Hillsborough County saw its share of the storms, particularly as the system moved through South Tampa and into the Brandon area.
The storms blew through Hillsborough County relatively quickly, dumping an inch of rain at Tampa International Airport and more than an inch in Ruskin. Hernando County saw two inches of rainfall.
Along with the lightning, winds and rain, tornado warnings were issued.
Bay News 9 meteorologist Juli Marquez said an expected cold front coming through later today should prolong the rain although the rough conditions should subside.
Governor Charlie Crist, Attorney General Bill McCollum, and Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink are visiting the damaged areas this afternoon.
