A tornado damaged the center of Pinellas County on Wednesday and cut the power for thousands, authorities say.
The same storm threatens eastern Hillsborough County, so residents must take precautions. According to Spectrum Bay News 9, it was moving north of Interstate 4 to local farms.
After hitting Pinellas, meteorologists say the tornado subsequently moved to Tampa Bay near the Howard Frankland Bridge.
A waterspout was spotted near the bridge reportedly heading for the Tampa side of the bay. But the National Weather Service raised a tornado warning for the Tampa area around 4:30 PM
However, it issued a new warning for the areas around Thonotosassa and Plant City until 5:15 PM
Meanwhile, damage reports are still coming in from the center of Pinellas. According to Duke Energy’s online outage map, approximately 14,000 customers have lost power.
The tornado started in Pinellas Park and traveled east through the county to the bridge, Weather Service meteorologist Dan Sobien said.
According to Pinellas Park police, most of the damage was in the areas around Bryan Dairy Road and 66th Street N and around 49th Street N and 118th Avenue N.
Emergency services operate different scenes in those areas. Traffic lights are also turned off in that area, according to Pinellas Park Police, so drivers should avoid the area and be extremely careful.
Spectrum Bay News 9 also reported damage in Largo’s Bayou Club area near S Belcher Road.