LAKE CITY, Fla. – A possible tornado near State Road 47 in Columbia County snapped trees, kicked up debris and sent residents scrambling for cover.
A tornado warning was in effect from about 3:15 p.m. to just before 4:25 p.m. for Columbia County.
Multiple residents and a deputy reported seeing a funnel cloud, but Columbia County Emergency Management Director Shayne Morgan told News4Jax they are waiting for the National Weather Service to confirm a tornado touched down.
A video from Matt Rocco that was taken from his home in Wester Woods shows a funnel cloud in the distance toward State Road 47. Rocco told News4Jax that everyone in his house sheltered in place inside and they were all OK. Rocco can be heard telling his family to take shelter.
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Posted by Matt Rocco on Sunday, 7 June 2020
News4Jax received photos from Laurie Schmidt showing damage around her yard along S.R. 47, just south of Interstate 75. She also sent video showing moving clouds. She said she heard what sounded like a train and hid in the bathroom. Fortunately, her house was OK.
“We didn’t have any structure damage, but we had a lot of trees that went down. Big trees, small trees. Some snapped and blew others twisted. So we just kind of have a big mess, but everything else is OK,” said Schmidt.
“You don’t know. You’re just hoping that it blows by, and it did, but it took down things around where we were,” said Schmidt.
Columbia County Sheriff’s deputies went door to door following the destruction, making sure everyone was OK.
Morgan told News4Jax about 4:10 p.m. that a response team was going to the area to survey the damage.
At last check, no injuries had been reported.