Tornado hits S. Fort Myers; storm affects much of SW Florida

AIRPORT UPDATE:

The ripple effect from the tornado that touched down in Fort Myers was still being felt at Southwest Florida International Airport shortly before 5 p.m. Friday.

Also, “there have been flight diversions from Miami because the bad weather has moved over there,” said Victoria Moreland, local airport spokeswoman.

She urged travelers to check with their airlines for the most up-to-date travel information.

The passenger terminal ended electrical generator use mid-afternoon. The on-site 7-Eleven convenience store and gas station are back up and running, as is the airport’s parking garage.

Apartment complex in SFM heavily damaged in storm

Said Moreland: Everything is operational. … We are very busy.”

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Marc Austin, a National Weather Service forecaster, said that the tornado hit about 11:10 a.m. and damaged the roof of a Camelot Drive apartment complex in south Fort Myers among other damage reported throughout the area.

He said an NWS staff member will be at the area this afternoon to determine the intensity of the storm.

Austin said the tornado watch that was scheduled to last until 5 p.m. was lifted about 1 p.m.

The warning, which expired at 11:15 a.m. came as Cape Coral residents are still cleaning up after an EF-2 tornado touched down Saturday night, damaging more than 200 homes and causing $6.6 million of damage.

Volunteers work to clean up after Cape Coral tornado

“They just had one go through last week, so of course that’s still fresh on everybody’s mind,” Wynn said. “We’ve gotten several reports of 40 to 50 mph gusts."

He said that people do not need to shelter in place, but they need to have a plan.

“It should start drying up in the next few hours,” he said about 11:45 a.m. “The brunt of the stuff is over southern Lee County."

See how Southwest Florida reacted to the tornado warning

LEE COUNTY

Lee County Spokeswoman Betsy Clayton said the county has not received any reports of overly flooded areas, said . The county’s public safety and transportation departments are closely monitoring the weather, and remain ready to respond if necessary, but have not changed their protocols due to the tornado that touched down in the Cape over the weekend, she said.

The county reminds people dealing with flooded roads to not drive or walk through a flooded area if you can’t see the surface beneath the water and keep your vehicle’s lights on and the flashers off.

You can find your local contact to report blocked ditches, swales or canals at  www.leegov.com/dcd/flood, choose your personal flood warning system by signing up for Code Red at www.leegov.com/codered and read the Lee County All Hazards Guide online at www.leegov.com/allhazardsguide.

“We actually anticipated a wet winter with the strong El Nino in the forecast,” Ehab Guirguis, operations manager with the Lee County Department of Transportation.

Crews responded to reports of street flooding to clear any debris washed into drains by the storm.

SCHOOLS

Lee County School District spokesperson Amity Chandler said all students in portable classrooms have been moved inside and some afternoon activities have been cancelled.

"Otherwise it's business as usual," she said.

The district is also asking that parents not come to schools now to pick up their children and wait until the weather clears.

Students at South Fort Myers High School were asked to be quiet and keep their heads down due to the tornado warning.

The school system said that, with the exception of after-school daycare hosted at a school locations:

• All Lee County after school activities are cancelled today. This includes all clubs, sports, arts, etc. All activities. Activities buses will not be operational today.
• All Lee County adult education classes and classes on technical college campuses are cancelled this evening at all locations – this also includes all wellness and fitness classes at any Lee County location.
• All professional training scheduled at any school location or the Lee County Public Education Center is cancelled.

The Lee County school district sent parents a special advisory Thursday telling them that if they didn't want to send their student to school because of the weather, their absence would be excused.

When asked if the Cape Coral tornado effected their decision-making process, Chandler said: "We didn’t make any novel decision — just reminded parents that when they call in their child, it’s an excused absence. We asked them to look at the weather and informed them we would support the decision they made for their child. We are well prepared and equipped for emergencies but some parents prefer to have their children closer to them when anticipating things like threatening storms."

She said they consulted with a meteorologist and "it was clear today wasn’t going to be 'average' storm weather but we were also confident we were prepared for what was expected to come our way and that whatever came our way was going to be short lived."

Chandler said there were intermittent power outages at some schools, some lunches were delayed and schools that had tornado alerts going off went into their tornado procedures.

There's another wrinkle: Many high schools were scheduled for midterms Friday. She said those schools have adjusted the exam schedule next week so students can make up the exam they may have missed.

Classes have been cancelled for the rest of the day at Florida SouthWestern State College.

That applies to all of the FSW campuses – in Fort Myers, Punta Gorda and Naples – as well as the school’s regional center in LaBelle.

“That’s effective immediately,” said Teresa Morgenstern, direction of communications.

“We got a tornado warning on our campus in Fort Myers to take cover a little after 11,” she added. “We’re trying to keep any students from coming to class now.”

Students, professors, administrators and faculty were notified of the cancelled classes just after 11:30 a.m. Students are able to remain in classes as long as necessary, due to the weather conditions.

“There was an emergency alert sent out college wide and through our college email system,” she said.

Saturday classes are expected to resume as normal.

Other schools felt more of the storm's wrath.

"Water came into (auxiliary) gym through the exterior doors at top of exterior steps next to fitness center," said FGCU associate athletic director William Blood. "The water leaked into fitness center below, our hoop storage, strength office, and underneath aux gym floor. Our facilities staff did a great job addressing right away with fans, squeegees, and towels. Just hoping no moisture seeps into plywood subfloor and warps our maple."

TRANSPORTATION

Southwest Florida International Airport had to use some generator power to keep essential services running, although some elevators and escalators are temporarily out of commission, said airport spokeswoman Victoria Moreland.

"But the roadways are open; the airports are open," Moreland said, adding no injuries have been reported at the airport.

There are numerous flight delays late this morning. Moreland advises passengers and those handling their ground transportation to check with the airline's website for the most up-to-date schedule information.

Lee County Tourist Development Council ended its meeting less than 10 minutes before the tornado warning alert. Visitor bureau staff and remaining meeting attendees cooled their heels in the first floor of county Administrative Building East.

COLLIER, HENDRY COUNTIES

The storm extends much past just Lee County.

The NWS posted at 12:10 p.m. that Collier and Hendry counties are on alert for winds reaching between 45 and 55 mph along with the chance of funnel clouds until 1 p.m.

"These  winds can down small tree limbs and branches ... and blow around unsecured small objects. Seek shelter in a safe building until the storm passes," said the weather agency.

At that time, the radar picked up a strong thunderstorm near Naples moving east at 35 mph.

Hendry County is bracing after a tornado sighted just west of its border in Lehigh Acres, says spokeswoman Electa Waddell.

If the storm passes over downtown LaBelle, county employees can hunker down in the administration building, a former bank. “We have an old vault we can go into, and in the courthouse, there are old prison cells.”

“The National Weather Service says there’s a tornado warning until 12:15 p.m., so we’ve been issuing warnings on Facebook and all our other channels and emailing people telling them to seek shelter or stay where they are,” she said.

WEEKEND WEATHER

The NWS said it's not needed to shelter in place, but people are welcome to do so.

The agency said the storm is moving east-southeast and should clear the way for a pleasant long weekend.

Wynn said that the weather should clear up and bring highs in the 50s and lows in the 40s.

He said that there will be some rain-inducing weather late Saturday until Sunday.

“Right now, it’s not looking as intense as this one, but it’s something we’ll have to keep an eye on,” he said.

Connect with this reporter: @ben_brasch (Twitter) and Ben Brasch (Facebook).

The NWS posted this advisory:

"At 10:51 AM EST, a severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado was located near Iona, or 8 miles southwest of Cape Coral, moving east at 40 mph. Hazard, tornado. Source, radar indicated rotation. Impact: flying debris will be dangerous to those caught without shelter. Mobile Homes will be damaged or destroyed. Damage to roofs, windows and vehicles will occur. Tree damage is likely.
This dangerous storm will be near. Harlem Heights and Iona around 11:05 AM EST. Cypress Lake, Villas, Pine Manor and Mcgregor around 11:10 AM EST. Southwest Florida Airport, San Carlos Park, Three Oaks and East Dunbar around 11:15 AM EST. Other locations impacted by this tornadic thunderstorm include Saint James City, Fort Myers villas, Estero, Page Park, Gateway, Punta Rassa, Whiskey Creek, page Field Airport, Tice and Fort Myers shores. Tornado, radar indicated Hail, <.75IN."