Damage to Clearwater buildings after severe weather closes street and displaced tenants
CLEARWATER — An early morning storm blew through the Tampa Bay area leaving minor damage in Clearwater, including an apartment building and the Bank of America tower.
Cleveland Street is closed to all cars and pedestrians between Garden Avenue and East Avenue after stucco from the Bank of America building, 600 Cleveland Street, fell during Sunday morning’s storm. Wind gusts reached up to 60 mph, according to Bay News 9.
Much of the debris falling from the Bank of America building landed in Station Square Park, causing the park to close Sunday. City of Clearwater inspectors determined the building had no structural integrity issues and the damage to the building is only on the exterior stucco, according to Rob Shaw, a spokesperson for the City of Clearwater.
In the 1200 block of North Osceola Avenue, a tree fell on an apartment building, displacing four people from two separate apartments. In a tweet from the Clearwater Fire & Rescue Department, damage to the apartments appear to be on the ceiling and from a broken window. Fire crews secured the structure Sunday morning.
No injuries have been reported in either incident, Shaw said.
Much of the Tampa Bay area was under a tornado watch Sunday morning, including parts of Pasco County, Pinellas County and Hillsborough County, according to Bay News 9. Strong winds from 30 to 40 mph were expected throughout the rest of Sunday.
Sunday’s severe weather will bring cooler temperatures. Starting Monday and into Tuesday, the highs are going to be in the low to mid 60s, according to the National Weather Service in Ruskin.
