MERRITT ISLAND, Florida — Reports of a tornado touchdown or a microburst, yet–to–be confirmed by the National Weather Service, in North Merritt Island just north of Hall Road and in north Cocoa has left storm damage in its wake. |
Island Lakes – Photo by Charles Parker |
|
Island Lakes – Photo by Charles Parker | |
|
Island Lakes – Photo by Charles Parker | |
|
Island Lakes – Photo by Charles Parker | |
|
North Cocoa: It’s like the wind lifted the canopy up and over the table & PLASTIC chairs…roof is shredded and chairs left perfectly as they were before the storm… Photo By Heather Reynolds |
|
Pea-sized hail in Canaveral Groves… Photo By Elizabeth Peterson |
|
Tree against home in Titusville. Photo by Bob Socks. |
So far, the hardest reported hit was in the Island Lakes Community on Wood Stork Drive in Merritt Island.
Additionally, storm damage has been reported in the Titusville, Florida area and north Cocoa, including Canaveral Groves and Sharpes, Florida.
Although unconfirmed, it is believed that a tornado or powerful storm cell traveled west to east across north Merritt Island, then crossed the Banana River and traveled in the area of the north terminals in Port Canaveral and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
There are reports of sporadic power outages just north of 528 near Sharpes, the neighborhoods in north Merritt Island, and the north side of Port Canaveral, Florida. FPL is reporting that over 1,500 customers are without power. The largest power outage, with 1172 customers without power, occurred in Merritt Island just north of the Barge Canal off State Road 3. FPL crews have been dispatched to the area.
Do you have weather photos or video of yesterday’s storm? Send photos for publication to brevardtimes@gmail.com or upload your video to our YouTube channel here.
View Comments
Oh wow, I Hope everyone is ok, no lives lost ,no injures.God is with you Amen
I'm from Merritt Island, my Mom's house off Hall Rd. has a tree on it, no power or phone, my Brother is there with her waiting for workers to clear up debris and find out exactly how much damage was caused. It was definitely a tornado, we have been through them before and know exactly what they sound like: there is nothing else that sounds that way, kind of like a train like some say, but with a distinct muffled pulsing whoof-whoof-whoof, your ears pop like when going up in a plane (and sometimes the windows too if you don't have them slightly open) and the wind shifting suddenly from nothing to sideways one direction then another, stuff smacking the building then back to nothing. I in fact have stood directly across from one (technically it was a waterspout that went onto land)as it worked it's way from the North Terminals down to the jettys in Port Canaveral a few years ago. I was at Grill's where my Brother's band was playing that afternoon, several people ran into the walk-in freezer, a few stood out on the seawall with me and we just watched it go by right in front of us. It came from the direction of the locks behind the cruise ships and slid along the seawall opposite us, hitting powerlines causing bright blue explosions and tossing little office trailers and equipment in the air, some of the debris going all the way up into the clouds at the top of the twisty hourglass-shaped funnel and falling back down into the barge canal. It then seemed to break apart in the middle and separated into sections of still-spiraling dirt and cloud that looked like strange spinning worms in the sky above us that slowly dwindled out of existence. Apparently, there is some feature about this particular area that many small tornadoes and waterspouts develop and follow a path, only a few every really make the news, and this is one of those times. I'm hoping noone is hurt. Still waiting to hear from my Dad in Titusville. Take care everyone.
Oh wow, I Hope everyone is ok, no lives lost ,no injures.God is with you Amen
I'm from Merritt Island, my Mom's house off Hall Rd. has a tree on it, no power or phone, my Brother is there with her waiting for workers to clear up debris and find out exactly how much damage was caused. It was definitely a tornado, we have been through them before and know exactly what they sound like: there is nothing else that sounds that way, kind of like a train like some say, but with a distinct muffled pulsing whoof-whoof-whoof, your ears pop like when going up in a plane (and sometimes the windows too if you don't have them slightly open) and the wind shifting suddenly from nothing to sideways one direction then another, stuff smacking the building then back to nothing. I in fact have stood directly across from one (technically it was a waterspout that went onto land)as it worked it's way from the North Terminals down to the jettys in Port Canaveral a few years ago. I was at Grill's where my Brother's band was playing that afternoon, several people ran into the walk-in freezer, a few stood out on the seawall with me and we just watched it go by right in front of us. It came from the direction of the locks behind the cruise ships and slid along the seawall opposite us, hitting powerlines causing bright blue explosions and tossing little office trailers and equipment in the air, some of the debris going all the way up into the clouds at the top of the twisty hourglass-shaped funnel and falling back down into the barge canal. It then seemed to break apart in the middle and separated into sections of still-spiraling dirt and cloud that looked like strange spinning worms in the sky above us that slowly dwindled out of existence. Apparently, there is some feature about this particular area that many small tornadoes and waterspouts develop and follow a path, only a few every really make the news, and this is one of those times. I'm hoping noone is hurt. Still waiting to hear from my Dad in Titusville. Take care everyone.