ST. PETERSBURG, Fla — The Tampa Bay area is picking up after strong storms came ashore Thursday. With the main line of storms moving through, the Bay area received some impressive rain totals in the realm of 2 to 5 inches between Northern Pinellas, Hillsborough and Hernando Counties. Outside of that, other areas reported around .75 to 1.5 inches.
Damage to the area was fairly limited, but those who saw it mostly reported downed trees and some flooding. There were a couple of funnel clouds spotted up in Hernando and Pasco counties, but those never touched the ground.
During our severe weather coverage, we were reporting on a storm moving through St. Petersburg when it was suspected a brief tornado had occurred. The storm showed signs of very strong winds as it was passing through the area. The National Weather Service later surveyed the damage and confirmed that an EF-1 tornado with winds around 100 mph had occurred. It was said to be on the ground for around 1/4 of a mile.
The All Children’s Academy building on 9th Ave North was damaged during the event, leaving three classrooms unusable. No children were injured during the tornado. All children were safely picked up and the school will be closed temporarily.
