EF1 tornado in Putnam County, Florida

A line of strong to severe storms moved west to east across Putnam County during the morning of Saturday, March 12th, ahead of a strong cold front. A supercell moving across southern Putnam county and produced an EF1 tornado with peak winds near 93 mph from about 4 miles W of Bakerstown to 3 miles NNE of Bakerstown. Damage along the path included downed and snapped trees, mostly in rural areas. The damage path began near South Georgetown Point Road, crossed U.S. Highway 17 and ended at Crescent Lake north of Clifton Road near Eagle Trail and Osprey Lane. One outbuilding has some structure damage between Duck Drive and Eagle Trail, just north of Clifton Road.

Strong to severe storms moved across the local area during the early morning hours ahead of a potent cold front. Severe storms with wind gusts of 50-60 mph and tornadoes moved inland from the Gulf of Mexico and tracked south of the I-10 corridor across NE Florida. Two EF1 tornadoes occurred, one in Marion county then another Putnam county between 8 am and 915 am. Strong pressure rises trailed the front during the late morning which caused high non-thunderstorm wind gusts of 40-55 mph into the afternoon.