High wind damaged this home in the Samara Lake subdivision. | News4Jax
Published on April 11, 2024 at 1:58 pm
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An apparent tornado damaged fences, windows and playground equipment Thursday morning in a 2-mile swath of communities near World Golf Village, according to the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office.
The roofs of some homes in the TrailMark subdivision west of Interstate 95 also were damaged, Sheriff Rob Hardwick said. Other storm damage was reported in the Samara Lakes subdivision off Pacetti Road, but no major damage was reported, officials say.
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The area started getting Weather Service tornado warnings just after 11:30 a.m., then a neighbor shot home video of a funnel cloud about 10 minutes later, heading southeast, Hardwick said.
“The National Weather Service is actually here doing their boots on the ground assessment,” Hardwick said. “A lot of damage as far as windows, fences, roofs, shingles and things like that.”
One person sustained minor injuries. They took themselves to a hospital, so there was no additional information, fire officials said.
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The storms were part of a powerful system that moved through the South starting Wednesday.
Areas of eastern Texas, including parts of Tyler, Jasper and Newton counties, picked up over 8 inches of rain from the storms, leading to flash flood emergencies and road closures.
The Storm Prediction Center warned of possible tornadoes and damaging wind gusts of over 60 mph, beginning late Wednesday in the Panhandle and moving toward Northeast Florida early Thursday.
A flash flood emergency was declared Thursday morning for Leon County and the city of Tallahassee after reports of water rescues and water entering buildings.
