Post by craigc37 on Oct 19, 2007 10:01:06 GMT -6
This was on the front page of The News Herald in Panama City this morning.
Storms slam region
Waterspouts, hail blow in, but no damage reported in Bay
By Andy Meinen
News Herald Writer 747-5089 / ameinen@pcnh.com
For Daniel Williams, Thursday was anything but a typical day at work.
The Panama City man was working construction on the Paradise Isle development at Rosemary Beach shortly after 1:30 p.m. when he saw something “fascinating”: a waterspout about a half-mile away.
“It was twisting and everything,” said Williams, 50. He ran inside the construction project to tell his co-workers, and they all came outside to watch the waterspout as it neared the shore just inside the Walton County line. “We stared at it for about 15 minutes,” Williams said. “It actually stopped, and we thought it was over.” But it wasn’t, coming ashore about 200 yards from them “at a rapid speed.” The Rosemary Beach waterspout was one of at least four spotted in the area Thursday, as a storm system dumped heavy rains, kicked up winds, dropped pea-sized hail in Panama City and prompted tornado warnings for several Panhandle counties, although no damage was reported.
The weather affected schools across Bay County after a tornado warning was issued at 1:29 p.m. Students were brought into hallways from unprotected areas, such as portable classrooms, at 1:44 p.m., said Mike Jones, district safety and security manager.
The storms and tornado warnings could not have come at a worse time, Jones said. Elementary schools are scheduled to get out at 2 p.m., high schools follow a half-hour later and middle schools are released at 3 p.m., Jones said.
“Everything was going crazy at that time,” he said. “Some parents didn’t like it, but we are not going to let them (students) go when they are in the duck and cover.”
At 2:09 p.m., Jones released all schools except Waller Elementary School and Deane Bozeman School, which were given the all-clear at 2:30 p.m., he said.
Jimmy Clanton, a Panama City Beach builder, had a runin with a waterspout while working on a house on Mill Cole Avenue. At about 2 p.m., a neighbor came outside and started yelling at him. Clanton and his crew had their backs to the gulf while they worked; when they turned around, a waterspout was coming straight for them.
“It was real tight. You could see it. It was a black line,” said Clanton, 50.
The waterspout was about 20 feet wide, and Clanton ordered everyone out of the house. They all ran to their trucks and drove away, but when the waterspout got to the second sandbar, it disappeared, Clanton said.
“It’s pretty frightening when you see a cloud in a funnel shape,” he said. “When it hit the shallow water, it just became a big wind.”
Kelly Godsey, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Tallahassee, said they received reports of waterspouts off Panama City Beach and Grayton Beach at about 1:35 p.m., but there were no confirmed touchdowns in Bay County.
In Grayton Beach, however, Williams said he and his coworkers watched the waterspout there come ashore and stay on the ground for about 5 to 7 minutes.
He said the winds were “really calm when it was out in the water,” but the winds kicked up and the air cooled when the waterspout made it to land.
“It was like a good gust, like a thunderstorm coming through,” he said. “It (the tornado) wasn’t picking up anything heavy … just pieces of wood and stuff.”
The storms produced heavy amounts of rain across the Panhandle.
By 6 p.m. Thursday, Godsey said radar estimated between 1 and 3 inches of rain had fallen in areas of Bay County. Exact totals were not available because the rain gauges at the airport and at Tyndall Air Force Base were not working. Marianna recorded just less than 1.5 inches, Godsey said.
The heaviest amounts fell in a line from Pensacola to Eglin Air Force, Godsey said, with Crestview picking up more than 7 inches.
Bay countians can expect similar weather today, Godsey said.
“There is the potential for developing tornadoes, heavy rainfall and high winds,” he said.
Godsey said forecasters expect a squall line to develop ahead of a cold front that will move through the region Friday.
“It’s with that line that we’re really concerned about the prospects of severe weather,” he said.
Thursday’s storms delayed the Central Panhandle Chapter of the American Red Cross from sending a response team to Pensacola, where tornadoes caused damages and injuries. The emergency response vehicle, or ERV, might be sent this morning if the weather clears, said Robert Pearce, executive director of the chapter.
The ERV consists of a twoman team that hands out food, water and other supplies in areas affected by disasters.
Metro Editor Will Glover contributed to this story.
Storms slam region
Waterspouts, hail blow in, but no damage reported in Bay
By Andy Meinen
News Herald Writer 747-5089 / ameinen@pcnh.com
For Daniel Williams, Thursday was anything but a typical day at work.
The Panama City man was working construction on the Paradise Isle development at Rosemary Beach shortly after 1:30 p.m. when he saw something “fascinating”: a waterspout about a half-mile away.
“It was twisting and everything,” said Williams, 50. He ran inside the construction project to tell his co-workers, and they all came outside to watch the waterspout as it neared the shore just inside the Walton County line. “We stared at it for about 15 minutes,” Williams said. “It actually stopped, and we thought it was over.” But it wasn’t, coming ashore about 200 yards from them “at a rapid speed.” The Rosemary Beach waterspout was one of at least four spotted in the area Thursday, as a storm system dumped heavy rains, kicked up winds, dropped pea-sized hail in Panama City and prompted tornado warnings for several Panhandle counties, although no damage was reported.
The weather affected schools across Bay County after a tornado warning was issued at 1:29 p.m. Students were brought into hallways from unprotected areas, such as portable classrooms, at 1:44 p.m., said Mike Jones, district safety and security manager.
The storms and tornado warnings could not have come at a worse time, Jones said. Elementary schools are scheduled to get out at 2 p.m., high schools follow a half-hour later and middle schools are released at 3 p.m., Jones said.
“Everything was going crazy at that time,” he said. “Some parents didn’t like it, but we are not going to let them (students) go when they are in the duck and cover.”
At 2:09 p.m., Jones released all schools except Waller Elementary School and Deane Bozeman School, which were given the all-clear at 2:30 p.m., he said.
Jimmy Clanton, a Panama City Beach builder, had a runin with a waterspout while working on a house on Mill Cole Avenue. At about 2 p.m., a neighbor came outside and started yelling at him. Clanton and his crew had their backs to the gulf while they worked; when they turned around, a waterspout was coming straight for them.
“It was real tight. You could see it. It was a black line,” said Clanton, 50.
The waterspout was about 20 feet wide, and Clanton ordered everyone out of the house. They all ran to their trucks and drove away, but when the waterspout got to the second sandbar, it disappeared, Clanton said.
“It’s pretty frightening when you see a cloud in a funnel shape,” he said. “When it hit the shallow water, it just became a big wind.”
Kelly Godsey, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Tallahassee, said they received reports of waterspouts off Panama City Beach and Grayton Beach at about 1:35 p.m., but there were no confirmed touchdowns in Bay County.
In Grayton Beach, however, Williams said he and his coworkers watched the waterspout there come ashore and stay on the ground for about 5 to 7 minutes.
He said the winds were “really calm when it was out in the water,” but the winds kicked up and the air cooled when the waterspout made it to land.
“It was like a good gust, like a thunderstorm coming through,” he said. “It (the tornado) wasn’t picking up anything heavy … just pieces of wood and stuff.”
The storms produced heavy amounts of rain across the Panhandle.
By 6 p.m. Thursday, Godsey said radar estimated between 1 and 3 inches of rain had fallen in areas of Bay County. Exact totals were not available because the rain gauges at the airport and at Tyndall Air Force Base were not working. Marianna recorded just less than 1.5 inches, Godsey said.
The heaviest amounts fell in a line from Pensacola to Eglin Air Force, Godsey said, with Crestview picking up more than 7 inches.
Bay countians can expect similar weather today, Godsey said.
“There is the potential for developing tornadoes, heavy rainfall and high winds,” he said.
Godsey said forecasters expect a squall line to develop ahead of a cold front that will move through the region Friday.
“It’s with that line that we’re really concerned about the prospects of severe weather,” he said.
Thursday’s storms delayed the Central Panhandle Chapter of the American Red Cross from sending a response team to Pensacola, where tornadoes caused damages and injuries. The emergency response vehicle, or ERV, might be sent this morning if the weather clears, said Robert Pearce, executive director of the chapter.
The ERV consists of a twoman team that hands out food, water and other supplies in areas affected by disasters.
Metro Editor Will Glover contributed to this story.
