At least two tornadoes touched down in Tallahassee, sending straight-line winds up to 160 miles per hour through the city, causing extensive damage and destruction to homes and businesses, blocking roads and driveways with debris, and plunging much of the city into darkness. Recovery efforts continued on Sunday, two days after the disaster.
On Saturday night, the city announced it had met its goal of restoring power to 75% of its more than 126,000 customers. And while the city hopes to have 90% of customers back up and running by Sunday night, residents in hard-hit areas are left with power lines, poles and substations left kinked, leaving residents in the hard-hit areas facing even longer delays. I was prepared for the possibility.
The National Weather Service confirmed Saturday that two EF-2 tornadoes touched down in eastern Gadsden County and western Leon County before moving into Tallahassee. NWS survey crews will be heading out again today to determine if a third tornado has struck southern Leon County. The storm claimed the life of a 47-year-old woman when a tree hit her home on Enon Church Road.
Introducing the latest reports from local journalists.
County to begin curbside debris collection by Friday
Leon County will begin collecting curbside “plant hazard debris” in unincorporated areas of the county by Friday, with a “second round in late May or early June,” according to a news release. Collection will occur on both public and private roads within unincorporated areas.
Here are the details from the release:
- All debris collected must be placed on the sidewalk or on the shoulder between the property line and the curb.
- Leave plant debris on the curb without removing it from the bag.
- Only plant disaster storm debris is collected.
- Be safe when moving large, bulky storm-related debris to the curb.
- Debris removal trucks do not pick up household trash. Waste Pro will continue to collect trash, recycling, and small yard waste on its regular scheduled days.
- Do not stack or lean debris against sprinkler heads, meters, poles, trees, backflow, or other structures.
Leon County will also be offering free yard and debris drop-off to all Leon County residents at both solid waste management facilities and all local waste service centers until further notice. The Leon County Solid Waste Management Facility is located at 7550 Apalachee Parkway and is open to all county residents Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Leon County Regional Waste Service Centers will also be open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the following locations:
- Woodville, 549 Henry Jones Rd.
- Fort Bladen, 2485 E. Joe Thomas Rd.
- Miccosukee, 13051 Miccosukee Road.
For the latest updates and emergency information, visit the county's emergency information portal at LeonCountyFL.gov/ei or call (850) 606-1500.
City of Tallahassee says crews are “working non-stop”
In an update to text message subscribers at 11:40 a.m. Sunday, the city said work crews had “to date identified 333 broken utility poles (with an expected increase to 500) and 91 damaged transformers. ” announced.
“The circuit in the tornado's path has been completely rebuilt. Additional mutual aid workers arrived yesterday, adding another 100 members. As of this morning, approximately 300 mutual aid workers are in the city. “We are working with our crew and additional crews are arriving.” today. “
But the city's power outage map doesn't match what the state Public Service Commission reports.
As of each Sunday noon update, the city reported there were 435 cease and desist orders, impacting 43,351 customers, or 34%. According to the PSC, only 28,554 customers remain without power, or 23% of the total.
City officials said the map has not kept up with rapid progress on construction sites in boosting power in the capital. About 300 mutual aid workers work alongside city employees, effectively quadrupling the number of employees, city officials said.
State Hope Bus at Bragg Stadium on Sunday.
The Florida Department of Children and Families' Hope Bus is currently parked at Bragg Memorial Stadium, 1500 Wanish Way in Tallahassee, until 5 p.m. Sunday, an agency spokesperson told the Democrat.
People who need supplies after Friday's storm can get tarps, water, snacks and wipes, among other things.
'I've never seen damage on this scale': Tornado's path of destruction is far smaller than that of Hurricane Michael
The tornado, which brought some of the strongest winds in recorded history to Tallahassee, left a trail of destruction that many say rivals nearly any hurricane the capital has endured.
Now we have some numbers to back it up.
Leon County spokesman Matt Cavell, in consultation with Leon County Emergency Management Director Kevin Peters, told Democrats Sunday morning that 46 buildings were destroyed by the storm that battered the city and county with 160 mph winds. He said buildings were destroyed.
“To put it in perspective, this is twice the number of structures destroyed in Hurricane Michael,” Cavell said, adding that the number of structures destroyed by what many consider the region's Category 5 “storm of the century” He noted that 25 structures were destroyed.
“We're almost double that number and we're still in the hardest hit areas today as we continue to assess the damage,” Cavell said.
County officials said there were 550 homes, businesses and buildings that suffered some form of damage from the trees, with 300 reporting significant damage from the trees and strong straight-line winds. After Hurricane Michael, 243 homes and buildings sustained significant damage.
“In all my years of disaster response, I have never seen damage of this scale anywhere, especially in my hometown. Now we must be patient and support first responders as they rebuild and rebuild.” said Peters.
And county officials expect that number to continue to grow before they finally break through the rubble and into the worst-hit areas.
“We know that if we can't get into the neighborhood, there will be significant damage within the neighborhood,” Cavell said.
More storms and heavy rain hit Tallahassee as tornado recovery continues
Another severe weather forecast is in Tallahassee, with the possibility of heavy rain as locals continue to deal with trees inside their homes and holes in their roofs.
The National Weather Service in Tallahassee said a series of showers and storms will move through the region Tuesday, with rain possible as early as Monday night.
“All kinds of hazards, high winds, tornadoes and hail are possible, and heavy rain could also lead to flash flooding,” the weather service said.
The Storm Prediction Center rates the entire Tallahassee area at a slight (1 on a scale of 1 to 5) risk of severe weather. The Weather Prediction Center has assigned a slight risk (2 on a scale of 1 to 4) for excessive rainfall Monday night and Tuesday.
“We're not just looking at the threat of severe weather, we're looking at the threat of heavy rain,” NWS meteorologist Israel Gonzalez said. “Tuesday could be quite chaotic and active. Unfortunately, it looks like some people still recovering from Friday's storms may be affected.”
National Weather Service may confirm third tornado in Tallahassee today
The National Weather Service in Tallahassee confirmed Saturday that two EF-2 tornadoes hit the nation's capital on Friday, but a third tornado could be confirmed later today.
NWS research teams will depart for southern Leon County this morning. Two tornadoes were confirmed there Friday morning, at the same time as a third spinning storm passed through.
“Based on radar, it was one of three circulations that appeared to have a debris signature,” said NWS Meteorologist Israel Gonzalez. “We have good enough confidence to suspect that a tornado impacted that area.”
Gonzalez said one of the NWS teams will survey damage from the Woodville area in west Tallahassee. When a tornado is confirmed, the weather service assigns a rating based on wind speed.
An EF-2 tornado has wind speeds of 111 to 135 miles per hour on the Enhanced Fujita Scale.
A second investigation team is scheduled to travel to the Dothan, Alabama area today to investigate the possibility of another twister causing minor damage there.
Leon has more than 30,000 electric customers and surrounding counties remain without power.
As of Sunday morning, nearly 30,000 people remained without power in Leon County, according to Florida's latest power outage report released at 6 a.m.
The outages affected 29,715 Tallahassee electric customers (24% of accounts) and 4,351 Talquin Electric Cooperative customers (17% of accounts).
The city announced Saturday that power had been restored to 75% of its customers as of 7:40 p.m. A day earlier, the city promised to reach that milestone by Saturday at 8 p.m.
“Crews will continue working through the night to reach 90% capacity by Sunday night,” the city said in a text message to customers Saturday.
Power outages in surrounding counties have dropped to a few hundred locations, according to state statistics. 770 customers lost power in Wakulla County, 364 customers in Gadsden County and 163 customers in Jefferson County.
Contact Jeff Burlew at jburlew@tallahassee.com or 850-599-2180.