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At least four tornadoes touched down in Tampa Bay area on Friday afternoon

Tornado Warning issued for parts of Pinellas Co.
Posted at 2:58 PM, Nov 02, 2018
and last updated 2018-11-05 06:08:29-05

TAMPA BAY, Fla. — At least four confirmed tornadoes touched down in Tampa Bay on Friday as severe weather moved across the Bay Area, according to the National Weather Service. 

The first tornado reported was in Seminole around 3:15 p.m. Friday. An ABC Action News viewer shared cell phone video of the tornado.

▼ VIDEO OF SEMINOLE TORNADO HERE ▼

 

 

 

The second tornado touched down around 3:20 p.m. in New Port Richey, according to Emergency Management.

Related: 2-month-old asleep incribwhentornadoknockedlargetree ontonursery

The third tornado touched down in Spring Hill around 3:30 p.m. Emergency Management reports that 17 homes were damaged in the area by this tornado.

▼ VIDEO OF SPRING HILL TORNADO ▼

 

 

 

The exact time and location of the fourth confirmed tornado have not been released at this time. The National Weather Service will continue to evaluate the storms and identify whether additional tornadoes formed on Friday.

Between 2 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. Friday, the National Weather Service issued tornado warnings for Pinellas County, Hillsborough County, Pasco County, Manatee County, Polk County and Hernando County. They have all expired.

As of 5:00 p.m., all warnings had been canceled.

Reports of severe damage have popped up across the Bay Area. Emergency crews responded to several calls for downed trees and power lines on Friday.

Click here for interactive radar.

Click here for full weather forecast.

The American Red Cross of Central Florida responded to multiple requests for disaster relief assistance on Friday due to the severe storms. Two emergency shelters opened as of 8:30 p.m. Friday to provide affected residents in Hernando, Pasco and Pinellas Counties a safe and dry place to stay, while their needs are assessed.

Shelter locations:

  • Mike Fasano Regional Hurricane Center, 11611 Denton Avenue, Hudson: Closed at 10 p.m. Friday
  • Christ Lutheran Church, 3451 30th Avenue North, St. Petersburg

At 4:30 p.m. Friday, more than 45,000 TECO customers, 17,000 Duke Energy customers and 7,000 WREC customers were reported without power.

Those numbers were drastically decreased by 10 p.m. Click here to find out when power is expected to be restored in your area.

Intersections, where lights are out, are to be treated as four-way stops.