SATELLITE BEACH, Fla. — Families in one Brevard County neighborhood are now cleaning up the mess left behind by a confirmed tornado that touched down Wednesday afternoon.
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The tornado damaged several homes in the South Patrick Shores area.
WFTV’s Drone 9 captured images of the community almost 24 hours later.
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The National Weather Service surveyed the area Thursday and determined an EF-1 tornado formed there, damaging at least 40 to 50 homes.
A damage survey confirmed an EF-1 tornado touched down near South Patrick Shores June 7th. The tornado started near the Lighthouse Landing subdivision then moved ENE out over the Atlantic. It was on the ground for ~1 mile, had a max width of ~300 yards, & peak winds 90-100 mph. pic.twitter.com/9NFPyvE9W8
— NWS Melbourne (@NWSMelbourne) June 8, 2023
“If you were sitting in a dishwasher on the spin cycle, everything was going cyclonic,” South Patrick Shores resident James Yancy said of the storm. “Some of my wife’s favorite trees died…they’re not dead yet, but they will be.”
However, Yancy says his home was spared any significant damage.
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William Ulrich is a Warning Coordination Meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Melbourne. Channel 9 was there as they surveyed damage along Pelican Drive Thursday.
“Based off a couple of homes that we’ve seen here that lost more than 50-percent of their roof, we estimated those wind speeds to be approximately 90 to 100 miles-per-hour,” Ulrich said.
According to Brevard County officials, two homes had major roof damage; another 12 had minor roof damage. Dozens more had storm-related issues with porches, awnings, and downed trees.
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Fortunately, no injuries were reported.
Although most of the damage was to private property, county officials say they’re in the process of forming their own damage estimate that could determine whether residents will be eligible for federal assistance.
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