PANAMA CITY BEACH — A few rounds of severe thunderstorms early Tuesday morning left most of Bay and Walton counties unscathed — with the exception of Hooters on Front Beach Rd.
Brian Hardin, communications supervisor with the county’s Emergency Services Center, said a part of the restaurant’s roof blew off the building and into the parking lot across the street. The damage was reported at 2:42 a.m.
Authorities in Bay County haven’t reported any road closures Tuesday morning. No other counties in the Panhandle were reporting closures either.
“We’re kind of lucky because a lot of rain is coming down, but not in a torrential downpour,” said Richard Thore, communications officer with Panama City Police Department. “We’re not having to put anyone out there for safety really.”
Hardin said any other damage reported near Inlet Beach and across Bay County as far north as Sand Hill was minor, including a small amount of street flooding with some power lines and limbs down.
“Mainly, we’re just advising people to watch the roads if they are known to flood, especially if they don’t know the area,” Hardin said.
As of 9:40 a.m., about 340 Gulf Power customers were without power in Bay County, down from more than 1,800 before sunrise. Figures for other area providers weren’t immediately available Tuesday morning.
At 7:15 a.m., Gulf Power reported 28 customers without power in Washington County, 54 customers without power around Ponce de Leon and 64 without power in northern Walton County. Those outages had been restored by 9:45 a.m., but 33 customers were reported without power in Bonifay.
Late Monday, several rounds of severe thunderstorms moved through Franklin and Liberty counties, and the National Weather Service reported picking up a tornadic debris signature on Doppler radar near State 65 north of Eastpoint and at least two tornadic debris signatures near the Sumatra community on the Liberty-Franklin County line. A tornado debris signature indicates a tornado has touched down — at least briefly — and, in these case, they occurred over forested areas.
A tornadic debris signature also was seen in Calhoun County about 4:20 p.m. Monday near the intersection of River Road and Jimmy Yon Road north of Wewahitchka, NWS reported. A funnel cloud was seen north-northwest of Blountstown about 45 minutes later.
An earlier version appears below:
PANAMA CITY — More than 1,800 Gulf Power customers were without power at sunrise Tuesday after several rounds of severe storms pelted the area overnight.
A severe thunderstorm warning issued at 6:21 a.m. for Bay, Holmes, Jackson and Washington counties was allowed to expire at 7:15 a.m. Walton County's warning was canceled early, but the daybreak storms weren't as strong as those overnight, which downed trees and power lines in Panama City Beach, according to the National Weather Service (NWS) in Tallahassee.
The daybreak thunderstorms also downed trees in Washington and Holmes counties, according to NWS. Gulf Power reported 28 customers without power in Washington County at 7:15 a.m., 54 customers without power around Ponce de Leon and 64 without power in northern Walton County.
Figures for other power companies that service those areas weren't available early Tuesday.
Late Monday, several rounds of severe thunderstorms moved through Franklin and Liberty counties, and the National Weather Service reported picking up a tornadic debris signature on Doppler radar near State 65 north of Eastpoint and at least two tornadic debris signatures near the Sumatra community on the Liberty-Franklin County line. A tornado debris signature indicates a tornado has touched down — at least briefly — and, in these case, they occurred over forested areas.
A tornadic debris signature also was seen in Calhoun County about 4:20 p.m. Monday near the intersection of River Road and Jimmy Yon Road north of Wewahitchka, NWS reported. A funnel cloud was seen north-northwest of Blountstown about 45 minutes later.
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Below is an earlier version of this story:
PANAMA CITY — More than 1,800 in Bay County were without power early Tuesday morning after severe storms moved through the area overnight, according to Gulf Power Co.
A severe thunderstorm warning was issued until 7:15 a.m. CDT for Bay, Holmes, Jackson, Walton and Washington counties.
At 6:34 a.m., the National Weather Service detected a line of severe thunderstorms capable of producing damaging winds of at least 60 mph that extended from New Hope to western Panama City. The line of storms was moving northeast at 35 mph; locations in the path of the heaviest cells include Caryville, Pittman, Pate Pond area in Washington County, Tyndall Air Force Base, Whitehead Crossroads and Springfield.
Overnight, severe thunderstorms downed trees and power lines in Panama City Beach, according to National Weather Service storm reports.