From the Associated Press and the ABC 33/40 newsroom:
PENSACOLA, Fla. (AP) – Rain continues to pour over the western
Panhandle after a tornado touched down in the area.
In downtown Pensacola, electricity is out and streets are filled
with several inches of water from rain that began around dawn.
Escambia County sheriff’s spokesman Glenn Austin says the
twister could be seen tossing debris around. Preliminary damage
reports are still coming in. He says the tornado struck a section
of Cordova Mall, the major shopping mall in Pensacola. The extent
of the damage has not been determined yet.
One meteorologist with the National Weather Service says the
tornado wasn’t on the ground very long — “just a matter of
minutes.”
Austin says some Pensacola Beach homes reported wind damage from
storms earlier in the day.
