A strong storm swept through the bay area leaving some in the dark and some cleaning up

TAMPA - Bright and early, residents in Hyde Park cleaned up damage from a strong storm Monday night that left many in the area in the dark.

Barbara Picca lost power.  She was thankful her twin boys, five-year-olds Luka and Lorenzo, were fast asleep.

"It was thundering and lightning.  It was a little scary," said Picca.

Krista Freymann tried to get her walk in.  Severe gusts ripped her trellis and she planned on trying to fix it before the next storm rolls through. This one caught her off guard.

"Literally, the storm came out of nowhere," Freymann said.  "There was lightning and wind and we have some bamboo on the side of house that fell, and it went down the steps.  And it was just pouring!"

Cassie Greatens husband woke her up in a panic.

"He thought it was a tornado because it came out of nowhere.  It was lightning really bad.  The wind was howling so it made that whistling noise like a tornado," said Greatens.

Greatens garden is also destroyed.  And while it wasn't a tornado, Mother Nature did plenty of damage.

Perhaps the greatest impact in Tampa, a sign on the Davis Islands bridge came crashing down, blocking the only route to Tampa General Hospital.  While crews said it did not impact any patients, there were delays with traffic, which was confined to one lane until almost noon Tuesday.

Commuters also dealt with heavy downpour. Many streets were flooded.

In Clearwater, high winds lifted a boat off it's trailer on Highland Avenue.

But Ruth Barlow, who also lives in Clearwater, faced more than her fair share of damage. The awning in the back of her home came crashing down.

"I have lived in this county since 1953.  I have never had an issue," said Barlow. "I really thought it was a tornado. The winds were howling!"

Picca said strong storms is just a part of living in Tampa.

"You know it's just that time of year that we have these types of storms and we are used to it."

She did ponder what the more than 50,000 guests coming in for the Republican National Convention may think.

"We might be used this, but they are not and this could put a crimp in their style," Picca exclaimed.