Independence Day Twister Causes Damage In Lake County
Follow CBSMIAMI.COM: Facebook | Twitter
LAKE COUNTY (CBSMiami) — It was a wild Fourth of July for residents of Lake County after a tornado touched down, damaging homes and sending people running for cover.
The twister destroyed a warehouse, knocked a hole in a restaurant and even sent boaters fleeing when it passed over a lake.
One family who was out on the water will remember from this Fourth of July. They spotted the tornado behind the wake of their boat as they crossed the lake from the Fish Camp Restaurant off highway 441.
"We realized it was a tornado directly above us," said Jim Jordan, the owner of the restaurant.
Jordan said the twister's whirling winds did some damage his place and caused a number of roof leaks.
The storm did more damage nearby, touching down behind a grocery store, toppling a warehouse and some fencing, and worrying almost everyone living at a nearby mobile home park.
Once the shock and the sky settled many people spent the rest of their holiday afternoon trying to help.
"Regular friends of ours who come to restaurant, neighbors and just people from the community coming to help out -- it's really just a great community up here," said Jordan.
While the tornado did a lot of damage, it could have been worse. The National Weather Service said it was a small twister, rating only EF0 on the enhanced Fujita scale.