TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency for 12 Florida counties after damaging winds and several possible tornadoes downed trees and power lines Friday morning.
Counties included in the executive order are Baker, Columbia, Gadsden, Hamilton, Jefferson, Lafayette, Leon, Liberty, Madison, Suwannee, Taylor and Wakulla counties, according to DeSantis' memo.
The state of emergency allows the state to better respond to cleanup and restoration efforts of the most heavily impacted areas.
More than 66,000 people are without power in Florida's capital city as 11 substations suffered damage as the storms rolled across the region. Numerous tornado warnings and severe thunderstorm warnings from the Panhandle into the Jacksonville area advising of near-hurricane-force winds impacted thousands more.
A woman died after a tree fell on her family's home, according to the Leon County Sheriff's Office.
Pictures and videos show downed trees, branches skewed all over people's property, and cars and houses damaged. Florida State University, where classes were canceled, also took a hit with its circus tent being damaged as video shows parts of it ripped off on the ground.
"Our area experienced catastrophic wind damage from the squall line that came through earlier this morning with wind gusts of 80-100 mph," Tallahassee Mayor Jon Dailey posted on X, in part.
The National Weather Service said it planned to conduct storm surveys for several counties to determine what caused the damage — damaging gusts or tornadoes, including their strength.
In a statement on X, DeSantis thanked first responders and utility workers for their efforts to keep people safe and get them back online.
The weather forecast for the weekend will be favorable for cleanup efforts, with sunny skies and temperatures in the low to mid-80s.
10 Tampa Bay's Alexa Herrera and The Associated Press reporting contributed to this report.