Bonnie-Spawned Tornado Rips Through Northwest Jacksonville

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Dozens of people -- including a police officer and Channel 4 reporter Victoria Warren -- saw a tornado rip a path of destruction in northwest Jacksonville Thursday afternoon.

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The police officer spotted a tornado 4 miles northwest of downtown at 3:58 p.m. Warren and photojournalist Randy Sell saw debris flying with some rotation about that same time near New Kings Road at Edgewood Avenue. Warren said she felt a cold rush of air and saw the tornado forming behind a church.

"There were people running out of a church because the possible tornado appeared behind the building," Warren said. "I see trees that were snapped in half."

One family took cover in a Family Dollar store when they saw the twister.

"It was getting bigger and bigger and bigger and bigger, and it was all the way down on the ground," witness Joyce Holsey said. "I just ran and grabbed those kids out of the car. When we went in, we looked, and it jumped the street -- on the other side of Edgewood."

More than 100 structures were damaged, some with roofs torn off. Trees and power lines were down in the area -- including lines down on a city bus.

Although ambulances rushed to the scene, only four minor injuries were reported.

"We're now still in the process of cutting people out of houses," explained Chief Larry Peterson with Jacksonville Fire and Rescue on Eyewitness News at 6 p.m. "People were very calm."

Peterson confirmed there was "total devastation" in some areas of town. He urged anyone who knows of people who may be trapped in their homes to call 911.

Electricity is reported out to 20,000 JEA customers in the county. Edgewood Avenue and Old Kings Road were closed and traffic in the area was diverted for two hours.

"I will tell the damage is far more extensive than we ever though it was," Jacksonville Mayor John Peyton said after touring the area.

IMAGES OF TWISTER Images Of Tornado, Aftermath

People were urged not to stay in damaged homes, with Sheriff John Rutherford reassuring people that patrols would keep their property safe.

"This is all from Tropical Storm Bonnie," Channel 4 Senior Meteorologist Brad Nitz said. "Tornados formed by the landfall of a tropical storm are weak, but they can still cause damage."

Though Bonnie had basically fallen apart, Nitz said a line of storms from that system spawned a series of tornados that moved the northeast through Bradford, Clay, Duval and Nassau counties Thursday afternoon.

Most of northeast Florida and southeast Georgia remained under a tornado watch until 9 p.m. Similar conditions are likely to exist again late Friday and early Saturday as Hurricane Charley passes through the area.

Other witnesses reported seeing a tornado at Imeson and Pritchard roads in northwest Jacksonville. A few minutes later, the Nassau County Emergency Management reported a tornado sighted 7 miles southwest of Amelia City.

Earlier Thursday afternoon, the Bradford County Sheriff's Office reported a tornado in the Worthington Springs area. Authorities were checking the area of damage.

If a funnel cloud is spotted or a rumble is heard, evacuate mobile homes and go to a sturdy building. Move away from windows, in an interior room on the lowest floor. Officials say bathrooms, closets and hallways are the best places to seek shelter in a home.