CRESTVIEW — The city of Crestview is announcing that an apparent tornado struck the town in the early morning hours of Friday.
The National Weather Service has not yet announced whether the storm was, in fact, a tornado. The agency is expected to have representatives in Crestview later Friday to investigate the damage and determine what sort of storm caused it.
As 11:40 a.m. Friday, here is what we know:
Storm history
At 3:59 a.m., the National Weather Service in Mobile, Alabama issued a tornado warning due to radar-indicated rotation in a severe thunderstorm located 10 miles west of Baker or 17 miles northwest of Crestview. At the time, the storm was moving east at 50 mph.
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According to Crestview City Manager Tim Bolduc, the city experienced significant storm damage north of the Highway 85 and 90 intersection. Bolduc urged residents to stay off the road, as trees were down all over town.
In a social media post, the Crestview Police Department reported multiple road blockages, building and residential damage, downed trees and power lines and major traffic hazards throughout the city. Department officials urged residents to report downed power lines to the respective power companies and limit damage reporting to emergencies and life-threatening situations only.
All city facilities had a delayed opening of 9 a.m. Friday.
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School conditions
About 8 a.m. Friday, the Okaloosa County School District announced that all North End Schools will not hold classes Friday. The affected schools include:
- Antioch Elementary School
- Bob Sikes Elementary School
- Northwood Elementary School
- Riverside Elementary School
- Shoal River Middle School
All Central and South Zone Schools will be open and start three hours later than their regular times.
Related coverage in Crestview: Videos, photos on social media show damage after reported tornado
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Tallahassee tornado: Live updates: woman killed; 80,000 without power amid widespread damage
"All school district maintenance crews, administrators, and power providers are working diligently to restore power throughout the county," the district said in a news release. "We appreciate the community’s patience and understanding."
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Damage reporting
In a release, the emergency management team of Okaloosa County noted that the county is currently collecting damage reports from the public to assist and speed up the process for state and federal personnel to assess the damage in the affected area.
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Storm reports can be made at https://survey123.arcgis.com/share/8ce4fbeca4a34dc58a12d40bdd4866f1 .
This article originally appeared on Northwest Florida Daily News: Crestview hit by apparent early morning tornado. Here is what we know.
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