National Weather Service releases preliminary findings into Friday's severe weather impact
The National Weather Service in Mobile, Alabama has announced its preliminary findings of the severe storms that hit this region on Friday. Here is what we know:
Was there a tornado?
At 3:53 a.m. on May 10, a tornado touched down along State Highway 4 in Santa Rosa County, approximately 3 miles west/northwest of Munson. As the tornado reached EF2 intensity, with winds estimated at 115 mph, its base grew to 450 yards wide.
The tornado then paralleled State Highway 4 east of Munson and snapped pine and oak trees on both sides before moving into Okaloosa County, the National Weather Service says. After a 12.25-mile journey, it lifted at 4:04 a.m., 3 miles southwest of Nubbin Ridge.
What affected Baker and Crestview?
Along with the tornado damage, NWS surveyors saw "large swaths of significant straight line wind damage" in northern Santa Rosa and Okaloosa counties.
Along State Highway 87 in Allentown, wind speeds were estimated at 100-110 mph. In one instance, metal roofing from a small barn was launched about 200 yards. Surveyors mostly reported downed trees in many areas.
A large oak tree fell on a mobile home in Baker. As the storm moved through Crestview, an awning was stripped from a canopy over the Tom Thumb on State Road 85, and stucco was stripped from the side of a church.
This article originally appeared on Northwest Florida Daily News: EF2 tornado confirmed in Okaloosa County
