NWS Confirms An EF-1 Tornado Touchdown And Strong Straight Line Winds Wednesday Morning

May 25, 2022

The National Weather Service has confirmed that an EF-1 tornado touched down Wednesday morning in the Ferry Pass area.

A NWS Mobile storm survey team found scattered locations of wind damage across the area, especially in the area of Davis Highway. Straight line winds of 60 to 80 mph caused damage in the area around Davis Highway., while the airport recorded a wind gust of 59 mph.

Winds appeared to strengthen near North Davis Highway south of I-10 and generated a brief tornado. It appeared to first organize and touchdown at Olive Baptist Church about 5:11 a.m. and moved northwest. The tornado moved to the northwest and reach peak EF-1 intensity with 90 mph winds along Whitmire Drive with downed trees and power lines. A camper was flipped and a shed suffered minor roof damage. The tornado path was about 50 yards wide.

The tornado appeared to lift as it reached East Johnson Avenue.

Further to the north, additional pockets of spotty wind damage were noted up to the Nine Mile Road area, where a box truck was flipped over in the parking lot in the 1600 block of Nine Mile Road in front of Crumbl Cookies, SportClips and Chipotle. Readers tell us the truck is always parked in that parking lot in the 1600 block of Nine Mile Road, near Hillview Drive.

At Olive Baptist Church, several trees were downed. There was water inside the Early Learning Center, and they were unable to assist with food and utility assistance programs on Wednesday, according to Drayton Smith of the Ministry Village at Olive. Residents of the Charis House at Olive joined church members and staff in working to clean up.

There were no injuries reported in the morning storms.

A few thousand Florida Power & Light customers lost power.

A tornado warning was in effect at the time.

Pictured above and first two photos below: The National Weather Service says a tornado touched down Wednesday morning at Olive Baptist Church. Pictured third below: Windows were blown out of Eyeglass World on North Davis Highway by straight line winds. Pictured bottom: Straight line winds overturned a box truck on Nine Mile Road. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.

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