ORLANDO, Fla. -- Tropical Storm Fay surprised forecasters and intensified as it moved over land and through Central Florida Tuesday.

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IMAGES: Fay Paths - Maps
CELL ALERTS: Text "Fay" to 42363 (rates may apply)

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"(The system) has had a weird run," Local 6 meteorologist Tom Sorrells said. "Since (morning) it has actually intensified."

Fay's winds jumped from maximum sustained gusts of 60 mph to 65 mph during a time it was expected to weaken.

"The worst thing that can happen is that people forget about Fay and deal with the rain showers as they happen and say the weekend is coming," Local 6 meteorologist Eric Wilson said.

"The damage associated with this system for us so far has been exactly as forecasted," Sorrells said. "We knew our biggest danger would be twisters happening in the afternoon."

Melbourne reported a wind gust of 40 mph Tuesday afternoon as Fay continued to pose a danger to neighborhoods.

Fay Could Strengthen In Atlantic

Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Fay has a chance of strengthening if it reaches the Atlantic and could threaten Florida Thursday.

Wilson said trends show Fay could gain strength and become a hurricane if it moves into the Atlantic.

"Indications are she is going to strengthen in the Atlantic and we are just going to have to hit the reset button and find out whether she comes back as a hurricane," Wilson said. "That is where the trend is. There is a question mark when it comes to Thursday and Friday. Does she stay on this path and leave us alone?"

The VIPIR computer model that handled Fay the best before it made landfall in Florida shows the storm possibly reaching hurricane status and moving into north Florida.

A northern path could be problematic for Georgia later this week, Wilson said.

"This very well could affect our Thursday and Friday, especially into the weekend," Wilson said.

Tornado Damages 51 Homes

Also, at least two people were injured and 52 homes damaged when a Fay-spawned tornado touched down in Brevard County.

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IMAGES: Tornado Damage

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Barefoot Bay resident Frank Amoretti reported seeing a tornado touch down in the vicinity of Brown Road and Puffin Drive west of U.S. 1 in Brevard County Tuesday afternoon.

"I saw the swirling and stuff and there was a lot of debris and everything," resident Frank Amoretti said. "As quick as it came in, it looked like it went right back up. It looks like part of a house or part of a roof and a couple of carports and a lot of aluminum and insulation and construction barricades from Mico Road."

Brevard County reported 50 structures were damaged by the tornado and nine of them were completely destroyed.

The tornado was confirmed by the National Weather Service to have touched down about an hour after it was reported, Wilson said.

The National Weather Service had issued a tornado warning for Brevard and Osceola counties before the damage reports.

Watch Local 6 News for more on this story.