Rain, hail hits Central Fla.

Weather causes flooding, knocks down power lines

The weekend kicked off with storms full of rain, hail and lightning stretching out all over Central Florida.

In Brevard County, winds knocked down power lines on South Tropical Trail, forcing road closures at eastbound State Road 404 in Merritt Island, according to Florida Highway Patrol.

In Volusia County, roads were flooded at State Road 415, forcing officials to shut down the road near Fort Smith Boulevard in Deltona. Rain is expected to continue off and on throughout the weekend, with a 70 percent chance of rain through Saturday afternoon.

In Deltona, Joe Verrechio and his son Jason had no idea what was happening until it was too late.

"I heard a bunch of wind, then hail and then I heard a boom," Joe Verrechio said Friday.

Around 6 p.m., a 50-foot tree came crashing down on their home while the two were inside.

"It sounded like a lightning crash, but it wasn't a lightning crash it was the whole tree coming up and it fell on my house," Jason Verrechio said.

The tree crashed into his father's bedroom then rain showers caused more damage inside their home.

Strong winds blew down trees blocking roads and causing hundreds of power outages. Electric crews worked tirelessly to restore power in the area.

"It was golf ball size hail. I thought it was going to break my back window. When I was driving I felt my truck moving back and forth," Ken Horne said.

Horne said he witnessed a tree fall on top of a car driving behind him.

"As I was driving, I saw the tree fall behind me on his windshield. He wasn't hurt," Horne said.

Now clean up begins for many homeowners fearing this may be the beginning of a weekend of damaging storms ripping through their neighborhoods.

"It's going to be devastating, especially if more storms and rain come through," Jason Verrechio said.

 

You can track storms with Local 6's live radar on JustWeather.com. Viewers can also send in pictures of weather near their homes to ishotnews@clickorlando.com. Pictures could be featured on ClickOrlando.com or on Local 6.


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