EF2 Tornado — Citrus, Florida

2023-10-12 · near Inglis, Citrus, Florida

Event narrative

Likely began as a tornadic waterspout that moved ashore, then tracked northeast near the Paradise Point community south of Crystal River before continuing across U.S. Hwy 19 and FL Hwy 44 into eastern parts of Crystal River before lifting northeast of the city shortly thereafter. Several hardwood trees were downed near the Plantation Golf Resort and Spa before more significant damage occurred as the tornado approached and crossed U.S. Hwy 19, with multiple homes receiving roof damage, including one with exterior walls collapsed. A warehouse along U.S. Hwy 19 also had part of its roof removed. Additional minor roof damage observed as the tornado continued northeast and across FL Hwy 44 before dissipating, along with downed electrical transmission lines.

Wider weather episode

A severe weather episode with an area of low pressure and associated cold front moving east across the Gulf of Mexico approaching the peninsula produced multiple supercell thunderstorms and likely waterspouts over the open waters before approaching the west Florida coast, where one waterspout was observed and multiple strong wind gusts were reported.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (28.8464, -82.6108)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1143569. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.