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At least 1 dead after possible Florida tornadoes
At least one person was killed Friday morning when an intense squall line of thunderstorms brought damaging wind gusts across the South and multiple Tornado Warnings to the Tallahassee, Florida area.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - At least one person was killed Friday morning when an intense squall line of thunderstorms brought damaging wind gusts across the South and multiple Tornado Warnings to the Tallahassee, Florida area.
John Dailey, the mayor of Tallahassee, confirmed the death to FOX Weather, saying the person died as a squall line swept across the Florida Panhandle.
"Unfortunately, we have had one confirmed fatality, and we ask everybody to keep their family in your prayers. And, of course, we’re assessing the damage, and we’ll continue to do so," Dailey told FOX Weather.
The Leon County Sheriff’s Office later reported that the deceased was a 47-year-old woman who died after a tree fell on her home.
According to the FOX Forecast Center, at least four tornadoes were confirmed on radar in Tallahassee on Friday morning, while thunderstorms produced gusts as high as 84 mph.
The National Weather Service will determine the exact number of tornadoes that occurred later Friday or Saturday.
"The reports that I'm receiving is that we had wind gusts between 80 and 100 mph ... that's hurricane strength," Dailey said. "It was a significant storm that came through, and what is concerning is we haven't even gotten into the storm season, per see."
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The system that swept across the Tallahassee area is the same severe weather that has impacted millions across the U.S.
More than 300,000 customers were without power across the South during the peak of the storms as of early Friday morning, with over 200,000 of them in Florida.
The City of Tallahassee said early assessments of the electric grid in the wake of the storms have shown severe damage to transmission lines, impacting 11 substations. Restoration will possibly take through the weekend. Mutual aid has been requested, and over 80,000 customers are without service as of 5 p.m. Friday.
FOX Weather contributed to this report.