Gov. Ron DeSantis issued a state of emergency for 49 counties after tornadoes left a path of destruction on Tuesday morning in the Florida Panhandle.
The National Weather Service in Tallahassee confirmed that there was a tornado on the ground at about 5:30 a.m., in southern Walton County that moved northeast. Homes and businesses were destroyed in Panama City Beach.
Leon County reported the storm left roads littered with debris and asked drivers to avoid using roadways while response teams cleared downed trees and power lines. There was a severe thunderstorm with 70 mph wind gusts at about 1:30 p.m., passing through Cross City, Mayo, and Steinhatchee.
By 3:30 p.m., the University of Florida in Gainesville was under a tornado warning and police officers asked students to stay away from windows, doors, and outside walls. There were tornado warnings in Orlando, Conway, and Azalea Park until 6:15 p.m.
A line of damaging storms will move through South Florida on Tuesday night. Miami-Dade County was under a wind advisory until 7 p.m. warning about sustained winds of 20-30 mph and gusts of 40-45 mph.
For more information about the local weather forecast and South Florida’s live radar, visit this page.
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