PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — Feeding Tampa Bay is looking to help those in Pinellas and Polk counties impacted by tornadoes Wednesday evening.
To help those in need, the organization is opening sites for families to collect food. No ID screening is required, but social distancing and COVID-19 safety protocols will be observed.
For a full list of food sites and pantries in the area, please visit Feeding Tampa Bay's website.
Pinellas County was the first area to see the impacts of severe weather Wednesday when the National Weather Service meteorologists issued a tornado warning just before 4 p.m. Not long later, it became a radar-confirmed tornado as debris appeared on radar.
It was a "confirmed large and extremely dangerous tornado," forecasters wrote in their warning. On Thursday, a survey from the National Weather Service determined the tornado was an EF-2.
The tornado then moved across the Howard Frankland Bridge into the City of Tampa, prompting a warning for Hillsborough County. Meteorologists tracked the tornado-warned storm into Polk County, as well, with all warnings expiring by 5:30 p.m. On Thursday, NWS confirmed an EF-1 touched down in Lakeland.
Thousands of people in Hillsborough, Polk and Pinellas counties were reported to be without power Wednesday evening.
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