Tornado Touchdown Confirmed In Eustis; 50 Homes Damaged
Witness: 'You Could Hear That Freight Train Coming'
POSTED: Thursday, September 20, 2007
UPDATED: 10:00 am EDT September 21,
2007
 |
EUSTIS, Fla. -- A tornado touched down near Eustis during severe weather late Thursday, causing some minor injuries and damage to as many as 50 homes.
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The tornado touchdown near Bay Street was confirmed by the Lake County Sheriff's Office at 12:04 a.m. Friday. Officers said the serious damage was isolated to a six-block area bound by the streets of Haselton (east boundary) and Bay (west boundary) and the avenues of Lakeview (south boundary) and Orange (north boundary).Eustis resident Janet Martin said she spotted the tornado from her home late Thursday."My son and I were standing (outside) and I said, 'Listen, listen' and you could hear it coming first," Martin said. "I saw something going round and round and then you could see the white funnel cloud and you could see it as plain as day. And I told my son to get in the house and go get your dad and your sister. It was pretty wild. You could hear that freight train coming."Martin said she could hear multiple sirens around the city after the tornado lifted away.A Local6.com viewer reported that a home near Monterey Drive was "gone" and that windows were blown out of many structures. The same viewer said Lakeview Avenue was closed because of debris and many streets appeared to be without power."It was about 11 p.m. that we received numerous reports of a tornado touching down in the Eustis area near Highway 441 in some residential areas north of the highway," Lake County sheriff's Sgt. John Herrell said. "We were requested by Eustis police to assist. They had several reports of houses being damaged and windows being damaged and roofs with significant damage and stuff like that."Herrell said he believed much of Eustis was without power early Friday."We advise people to stay inside and report any damage to call the sheriff's office or Eustis police," Herrell said.A tornado warning remained in effect in Lake County until 12:15 a.m.Orange County as well as Marion and Sumter counties were also under tornado warnings Thursday night.Watch Local 6 News for more on this story.
PHOTOS: Damage Photos | Sky 6 DAMAGE: Send Photos E-MAIL: News Desk The tornado touchdown near Bay Street was confirmed by the Lake County Sheriff's Office at 12:04 a.m. Friday. Officers said the serious damage was isolated to a six-block area bound by the streets of Haselton (east boundary) and Bay (west boundary) and the avenues of Lakeview (south boundary) and Orange (north boundary).Eustis resident Janet Martin said she spotted the tornado from her home late Thursday."My son and I were standing (outside) and I said, 'Listen, listen' and you could hear it coming first," Martin said. "I saw something going round and round and then you could see the white funnel cloud and you could see it as plain as day. And I told my son to get in the house and go get your dad and your sister. It was pretty wild. You could hear that freight train coming."Martin said she could hear multiple sirens around the city after the tornado lifted away.A Local6.com viewer reported that a home near Monterey Drive was "gone" and that windows were blown out of many structures. The same viewer said Lakeview Avenue was closed because of debris and many streets appeared to be without power."It was about 11 p.m. that we received numerous reports of a tornado touching down in the Eustis area near Highway 441 in some residential areas north of the highway," Lake County sheriff's Sgt. John Herrell said. "We were requested by Eustis police to assist. They had several reports of houses being damaged and windows being damaged and roofs with significant damage and stuff like that."Herrell said he believed much of Eustis was without power early Friday."We advise people to stay inside and report any damage to call the sheriff's office or Eustis police," Herrell said.A tornado warning remained in effect in Lake County until 12:15 a.m.Orange County as well as Marion and Sumter counties were also under tornado warnings Thursday night.Watch Local 6 News for more on this story.
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