SARASOTA, Fla. — Stormy-looking skies suddenly turned more ominous as a brief tornado moved through Wednesday afternoon.
The Sarasota Police Department shared a video of the tornado around 2:15 p.m. as it crossed the area of 10th Street and Washington Boulevard. One nearby building has major roof damage while the impact to another building is said to be minor.
There have been no injuries reported at this time, police spokesperson Genevieve Judge said.
The tornado is tentatively rated an EF-1 with 90-mph winds, according to the National Weather Service.
"Based upon the information we have received, we can confirm a tornado occurred in Sarasota," the agency tweeted. "This was very brief (looks to be around 45 seconds), but we have enough information to conclude that EF-1 damage (90mph) occurred."
Much of central and eastern Florida was placed under a severe thunderstorm watch for most of the afternoon for the threat of damaging winds and large hail. Although the city of Sarasota is outside the watch area, there remained a small threat for strong to severe thunderstorms.
The business that faced the brunt of the damage from the tornado is 'Alvis Industries Inc.' which is advertised as a family-owned and operated custom cabinetry and furniture store.
Owner John Alvis was at the showroom on Wednesday when the tornado touched down. "I heard the door vibrate and I ran back inside and dove next to a dumpster. Then the roof lifted up about 10 to 15 feet, and came crashing down around me," said Alvis.
While the business faces a lengthy and complicated clean-up operation, Alvis says he is grateful no one was injured in the storm. "It's pretty rough, but I'm just glad all of us made it out alive."