Severe weather left path of damage from Tampa Bay into north Florida
CLEARWATER - A storm system that moved across parts of Florida's west coast early Thursday left a path of damage to cars, houses, and businesses.
Police in Clearwater said in a social media post that no injuries were reported when two possible tornadoes touched down around 2 a.m. Thursday. Photos shared by the agency showed gutters from a home that pierced the windshield of a car.
More damage was reported from a separate potential tornado around 65 miles north in Crystal River. Citrus County officials said several roads were closed there because of downed power lines, trees, and debris.
Officials canceled public school classes for the day.
"The west side of Citrus County has experienced significant damage from an unconfirmed tornado(s) which hit the area overnight," school officials said in a Facebook post shortly after 6 a.m. Thursday.
Deputies were directing traffic Thursday morning due to multiple road closures caused by the storm, the Citrus County Sheriff's Office said on social media. A portion of U.S Highway 19, which is a major thoroughfare through the mostly rural county, was closed due to storm damage.
The storms kept tracking east across the state, reaching parts of northeast Florida Thursday morning. The Flagler County Sheriff's office said there was "significant damage" but no injuries in Palm Coast on Florida's Atlantic coast.
Photos posted to social media by the Palm Coast government showed a car flipped on its side, roof damage and insulation strewn about a yard there.
Millions of Floridians were under a tornado watch Thursday morning with strong thunderstorms ongoing. Wind gusts of 30 mph to 40 mph are possible through the morning and into the afternoon across northern parts of the state as a storm system moves across the area.
The storm system will begin to move off into the Atlantic waters during the early afternoon. This means heavy rainfall and strong thunderstorms will still be possible over the area through most of Thursday, with activity beginning to wind down into the evening.
Eric Zerkel and Allison Chinchar, CNN contributed to this report
