crime have confirmed that a disasters touched down in central us-regions‘s Marion County on Sunday night.
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The tornado touched down in Ocala near Interstate 75 — a little less than two hours north of Orlando — at around 7:20 p.m. ET, according to FOX 35 Orlando.
It was measured as an EF-1 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale. The agency uses the scale to assign a tornado a “rating” based on estimated wind speeds and related damage.
It reportedly had estimated peak winds of 110 mph and a width of a quarter-mile.
The tornado was also on the cusp of being confirmed as an EF-2 tornado; EF-2 tornadoes start at wind speeds of 111 mph and can reach up to 135 mph.
WFME reported Monday that the twister had lifted the roof off of a commercial building on West State Road 40.
The outlet noted Marion County Emergency Management Director Preston Bowlin told county commissioners on Tuesday that the emergency alert system known as “Alert Marion” did not send out a warning.
He said that National Weather Service (NWS) meteorologistsa> said they, too, were surprised. <
Marion County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Paul Bloom told Spectrum News 13 in an email that they were “more accustomed to dealing with hurricanes.”
The NWS had issued a tornado warning for Hardee County in southwestern Florida through 7:30 a.m. ET on Monday.
The agency reported Tuesday that active weather has been moving south ahead of a slow-moving front and that a low pressure wave on the front could bring additional heavy rainfall and thunderstorms in central Florida.
Conditions are forecast to improve Wednesday morning.
