Video shows tornado ripping through patio of Rockledge home

EF-0 tornado struck Brevard on Friday

ROCKLEDGE, Fla. – Surveillance video shows the moment a tornado ripped through the patio of a Rockledge home Friday evening.

The video, provided by News 6 viewer Ian Hitchcock, starts with gusts of wind buckling a wooden fence and the branches of a nearby tree.

Then the fence flings open.

From a different camera, a trash can tips over and debris goes swirling around the yard. 

The view switches to the backyard about two minutes into the video. Hitchcock said his mother and mother-in-law were on the screened-in porch next to the pool seconds before the storm ripped through and destroyed it.

Hitchcock said the storm caused about $15,000 in damage to his Lakemoor Boulevard property in those few minutes before the sky quieted once again. 

The National Weather Service in Melbourne issued a tornado warning at 6:52 p.m. Friday for an area that included Merritt Island and Rockledge. An EF-0 tornado with winds between 60 to 70 mph hit the area during that time frame, meteorologists said.

As was the case Friday, tornadoes often strike quickly with little warning. 

Experts recommend preparing in advance by building an emergency kit and identify safe rooms in your home or place of work.

Click here for more tips on how to keep yourself safe.


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