POLK COUNTY, Fla. — Thursday was all about assessing the damage and starting the recovery process following Wednesday’s tornado that crushed several homes and businesses, but miraculously left no one seriously hurt.
Throughout the day trucks were removing debris, utility companies worked to restore power, and insurance companies totaled up the damage.
The National Weather Service had two teams on the ground performing their own assessment using 28 criteria to determine the tornado’s strength.
The storm they say clearly had winds exceeding 100 miles an hour.
“So, the tornado in Pinellas County was 300 yards wide. It was on the ground for more than 9 miles, going through a highly-populated area,” said National Weather Service Meteorologist Dan Noah. “A lot of people were impacted by the tornado. And, we had no injuries or fatalities, which is amazing.”
The NWS says tornadoes are not particularly common during the cool weather season, but when they do come through they can be strong as was the case with this one.
Importantly, they say, they’ll take a look at the amount of damage that was done and then compare it with the radar images that they saw Wednesday to fine-tune their forecasting and warnings in the future.
Although a large portion of the most serious damage was seen around an industrial section of Pinellas Park, several homes were also pummeled by the tornado.
On Thursday, Feeding Tampa Bay also set up a special outreach for those hardest hit.
“We want to make sure that people know if they need us we are here and ready for them," a spokesperson for the organization said.
Restoration crews, utility trucks and a small army of insurance adjusters also descended on the region.
Dave Swartz’s company was one of those now in cleanup mode.
His workers huddled in a secure part of their building as the tornado peeled away the roof.
Yet another challenge, he says, brought on by the year 2020.
“You know, it’s just typical for this year. It’s making everybody a little more resilient,” Swartz said. “And it’s just another thing, another hurdle that we have to jump over - and we will do that - and get back to business.”
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