ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The National Weather Service spent Thursday afternoon surveying storm damage at a preschool in the city's Disston Heights neighborhood to confirm whether an actual tornado impacted the area.
Their preliminary information indicates that damage was caused by an EF-1 tornado, according to the National Weather Service in Ruskin.
The agency says peak winds from this tornado reach 100 mph, with a track distance of a quarter of a mile.
At least two buildings were impacted by the tornado just after noon in the area of 55th Street North and 16th Avenue North, according to a National Weather Service storm report.
No children were harmed at the All Children's Academy preschool according to its owner, Ricardo Griffith. The damage to the building, however, will prevent it from reopening anytime soon, he added.
Strong storms moved into Pinellas County around noon with strong winds prompting the National Weather Service to issue a severe thunderstorm warning. A notch in the storm allowed some rotation to develop from near Treasure Island to just south of Kenneth City.
Pinellas County and the rest of the Tampa Bay area have been under a tornado watch all day for the threat of strong to severe storms, including those that could produce tornadoes and damaging winds.
The severe weather threat has ended across the region.