Last Updated: 3:58 p.m.
The National Weather Service this afternoon confirmed that an EF1 tornado touched down in West Flagler early this morning (Dec. 14) and cut a 20-mile path northeast to Flagler Beach then offshore.
After weather service officials visited the county, the weather service, in consultation with local officials and observations on the ground, determined that the tornado, dubbed the Korona tornado, touched down near Haw Creek Preserve around 5:15 a.m., two minutes before the service issued a tornado warning. The tornado then followed a “steady east-northeast track” across Korona, south of Bunnell, skirting the south end of Seminole Woods in Palm Coast, then crossing I-95 and Old Kings Road, John Anderson Highway and the Intracoastal Waterway, before causing more damage in the area of Gamble Rogers Memorial State Recreation Area, at the south end of Flagler Beach. By then it was 5:40 a.m.
The tornado peaked at 110 mph, and had a maximum width of half a mile, or 880 yards, according to the National Weather Service. See the path on a map below the video.
Flagler County this afternoon issued a 5-minute drone video showing some of the damage in Korona. The video shows structures that lost their roof, twisted metal, twisted and and fallen trees and debris. trees. Still, the damage, while striking, was limited.
The day’s earlier accounts are below.
Possible Tornado Appears to Have Touched Down in Line From Korona to South Flagler Beach, But Damage Is Limited
Storm-damage reports from a burst of severe thunderstorms before dawn at the south end of Flagler County were dotted along a relatively straight line from Korona through the south end of Seminole Woods, to South Old Kings Road and the south end of Flagler Beach this morning. Authorities were not ready to confirm a tornado touchdown, but were seeing strong signs of one. Damage is isolated, and with a minor exception, there’s been no reported injuries.
“There’s some damage reported in Flagler Beach at the south end, strong wind gusts or a tornado,” Flagler Beach City Manager Larry Newsom said before 7 a.m. “There’s another area on the west side too but that’s not our jurisdiction.” The city’s firefighters and police officers were conducting assessments, with Lt. Morgan Walden of the fire department leading the department’s efforts for now. “I don’t think it’s massive so I’m not going to call in staff until I have to. I’m going to use public safety.”
Newsom said the sign at High Tides At Snack Jack, the beachside restaurant, had been damaged. “I don’t think it’s too severe and but I don’t want to be too hasty,” he said. A little after 8 a.m., with more light on the damage, Newsom said there was some aditional damage to the front of the restaurant and some limited damage in the Pebble Beach subdivision. “One lady lost her whole Florida room,” and there were trees down, Newsom said. “Outside of that one house I have to say this has been a very minor impact from the storm.” He expects any storm debris to be picked up by Monday.
Emergency Management’s Jonathan Lord was started an on-the-ground assessment shortly after dawn, starting in Korona and making his way east. Flagler County Fire Flight, the emergency helicopter, is out of service, however, making an airborne assessment impossible.
By 8:30 a.m., Lord was concluding that the possible tornado “came down near the new traffic circle” at the intersection of U.S. 1 and Old Dixie Highway (the roundabout under construction there) and headed north-northeast. “It looks like it came up and down a few different times,” Lord said. “We definitely have one house that’s lost its roof near the traffic circle.” Otherwise, there’s minor property damage and “quite a few trees down.” Lord had surveyed the area up to I-95 by the time he spoke with FlaglerLive at 8:30. got up from US 1 to I95, a lot of roads are dirt roads, checked on properties back there, “there’ is some other minor damage,” quite a few trees down.
Residents of Seminole Woods and authorities in Flagler Beach were reporting isolated damage from a storm and a fire that coincided with the tornado warning early Saturday morning. There were early reports of a possible tornado touch-down at South 28th Street in Flagler Beach, where the fire police was summoned.
Isolated brush fires were also reported in the south end of the county.
“We’ve got very minimal challenges, Sexton Place I think there’s a house with damaged windows,” Palm Coast Fire Chief Jerry Forte said just after 7 a.m. “Predominantly we are answering calls for fire alarms and lightning strikes.” Forte said there was not much of an impact in the city, with issues concentrated at the south end of the county. He’d just spoken with a battalion chief who was reporting crews answering normal operation calls, with the exception of one crew helping Flagler Beach firefighters on John Anderson Highway.
Authorities were reporting damage at Creek Bluff Run, a small residential street off of John Anderson Highway, east of Bulow Plantation, where Florida Power and Light was summoned. A power line was arcing in that zone.
“We do have two witnesses who confirmed a tornado touchdown in this area,” a Flagler Beach firefighter was reporting at 6:25 a.m., in reference to the area of Creek Bluff Run.
Late this morning county government announced that tarps would be available to residents who sustained home damages, and could be picked up at the county’s Emergency Operations Center, 1769 E. Moody Boulevard, building 3, which is directly behind the domed Government Services Building. Tarps would be available until 3 p.m., or until they runout, whichever happens first.
“We only have a limited number of tarps, so we are asking residents to call before they make a trip to the Emergency Operations Center,” Lord said. The phone number to call is 386-313-4200.
As reports streamed in, the area of storm damage was drawing consistent line across the south end of the county, strongly suggesting the storm’s or possible tornado’s path.
“We can’t confirm it as a tornado just yet until we get daylight and physically look at what happened,” Bob Pickering, Flagler County Emergency Management’s weather specialist, said, “but it kind of feels like one based on the reports we’re getting. Right now the weather service is terming it severe storm damage, possible tornado damage. So no injuries reported as yet. Ironically the first report I had was by one of my React volunteers, he was in South Flagler Beach, he reported a loud roar and very squally wind and winds from multiple directions. That came in at zero five 45 a.m., that was just north of Gamble Rogers. The thing is that was the first damage report because he was actually up and around, spotting the storm.”
“We heard a faint whistling noise and knew the tornado was close,” another Seminole Woods resident wrote, and another described it as “a horrible and scary sound.”
A building behind the old White Eagle Lounge at Old Dixie Highway and U.S. 1 took some damage, but no injuries. There were multiple wires down on County Road 335, behind the White Eagle Lounge.
In Palm Coast proper, “We don’t really have anything significant,” City Manager Matt Morton was reporting by 8 a.m. “Tree debris, branches down. Canals are fine. Fortunately there’s nothing going on here, it sounds like Flagler Beach got most of it.”
“All of this started at 4:43 in the morning,” Pickering said. “We had a significant weather advisory posted and a severe thunderstorm watch posted at that point,” followed by the tornado warning from 5:17 to 5:45 a.m. “At this point I have confirmed damage reports from Korona, and you kind of draw a line from east south east from that point to South Flagler Beach,” with trees down, power lines down, and other similar type of damage.
If a tornado did touchdown this morning, it would have happened on the exact sixth-year anniversary of the last tornado to cause severe damage in Palm Coast, in 2013, a tornado later dubbed the Starlight Tornado, as it began to strike just as the city’s Starlight Parade was getting under way. The parade is scheduled for tonight.
The earlier story is below.
Tornado Warning for Southern Flagler County Until 5:45 AM
At 5:17 a.m. the National Weather Service issued a tornado warning for southern Flagler County. A tornado warning means conditions are present for a tornado: you should seek shelter if you are in the affected area.
A severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado was located 8 miles southeast of Crescent City, moving east at 40 mph.
This dangerous storm will be near Palm Coast and Bunnell around 535 AM EST. Flagler Beach around 540 AM EST. Other locations impacted by this tornadic thunderstorm include Beverly Beach.
TAKE COVER NOW! Move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a sturdy building. Avoid windows. If you are outdoors, in a mobile home, or in a vehicle, move to the closest substantial shelter and protect yourself from flying debris. Heavy rainfall may hide this tornado. Do not wait to see or hear the tornado. TAKE COVER NOW!
Tornadoes are extremely difficult to see and confirm at night. Do not wait to see or hear the tornado. TAKE COVER NOW!
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FPC Granny says
Thank you Flaglerlive for trying to keep us safe with your reporting!! It is to dark out for me to see any damage, but I did have one (large approximately 30feet tall) rotted pine tree on the “city-owned ditch” (not a swale, a ditch, with no water) behind my property which fell last week. The city tells me I have to find a way to have the tree removed at my cost :( I am a senior and don’t have the means to pay for this (the city has never maintained this area) now no less with Christmas upon us. So know if anything falls on your property from wind storms etc. that is not yours, know you bare the cost to remove. Thank you again Flaglive for trying to keep us all safe!!
CB from PC says
The City of Palm Coast needs to take financial responsibility to clear trees from utility rights of way and City owned property. Private landowners adjacent to it cannot legally remove hazards on city owned property.
Nor should they pay the cost.
And the City has no right to drive heavy equipment through private property, knocking down growth, to perform repairs.
Hey Palm Coast, keep the utility right of way clear and use it.
FPC Granny says
@CB I could not agree with you more! Thank you for acknowledging my situation and for taking the time to reply!! I have pine trees entwined with vines and undergrowth on the city-owned ditch adjacent to the back of my property. I have spoken with Urban Forestry and they said a week ago and then again Friday they will send someone out. Still waiting! I have been here 16 years and I have never seen the city maintain this ditch at all. My (grown) daughter and her friend came over and they cut up the pine tree that landed from the ditch into my yard. Now I have to find a way to pay to have it removed per the city! The Lord was looking over me and my home when that tree fell. It did not hit my house or the shed. But I am really very scared now especially after the storm of last night. Possibly with another storm, another pine tree will come down (they are tree rotted) and I will not be so lucky!
Greg Jolley says
Thank you!
Great, fast coverage!
ConstantlyAmazed says
So the counties helicopter was down due to poor weather and no damage assessments could be done by air. Doesn’t the county own “DRONES” ? Wouldn’t they be able to fly and damage imagery could be observed on an IPad? Aren’t drones a hell of a lot cheaper to operate than a helicopter that has limited flying availability ?
Anon says
Oh you better believe a drone is a lot cheaper than the taxpayer money wasting helicopter. They don’t use that helicopter for anything productive, just to fly city and county officials around for an afternoon. You know they “have to fly it daily” to keep it working? If the county ever wants to leave the 1990s they will invest in a drone fleet.
John says
Yea till theyre in your back yard and looking in your window. you give them an inch theyll take a mile and from what i hear the people who run palm coast, run it like dachau
Richard says
Drones are more-so susceptible to VERY bad weather conditions due to their size and weight. I know because I am a drone pilot with a Professional Phatom -Pro and it is almost impossible to fly a drone in very windy conditions. Once the weather clears up there is no reason not to use a drone to survey the damage.
Skwow says
We’re talking about post-storm observation flights when windy weather conditions have subsided. Not a night flight into the belly of the beast.
larry w swerdloff says
and by getting immediate damage picture you are helped how ? Repairs dont happen immediately and the entire area will not be seen immediately. Come on give the people on the ground some credit ; this isnt instant tv with a reality show at your beckon call.
Jon Erickson says
The faster the damage reports and observations are studied, the faster a plan to handle ant problems can be launched. Also, disaster aid from other governmental agencies (county, state, and federal) can become available if the problems warrant. What if someone is off the “beaten path” and needs medical assistance? Time is of the essence.
Clarification says
The County DID have two staff out today that are licensed drone operators. They captured both still images and video and will be back out at the beginning of the week to map it. Some of their product is displayed or linked from the county website at http://www.flaglercounty.org If you have damage, please complete the survey and add any photos you may have. https://survey123.arcgis.com/share/524749c1c2a145b6b0a25a0a5508b548?portalUrl=http://FCMAPS.maps.arcgis.com Just because you didn’t read about it on Flagler Live doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. There was a tremendous amount that transpired today and first responders did an awesome job for the residents of Flagler County.
Roy says
Every December the helicopter shuts down for annual maintenance. It is primarily used for fire fighting and secondary medical transport to the trauma center in Daytona. It’s a waste of money until it saves your life in a car accident or your house from a brush fire
FlaglerUASCoordinator says
Yes, we did use utilize our county drone team for damage assessment. We had 2 pilots that flew the entirety of the tornado’s path and captured video and images. Additionally, if you have any images of damage, please help us out by submitting them here https://survey123.arcgis.com/share/524749c1c2a145b6b0a25a0a5508b548?portalUrl=http%3A%2F%2FFCMAPS.maps.arcgis.com&fbclid=IwAR1micicP05jN6gpxwGF_6_1cxgcLr5gmpfb463pH_iH9qdTWUOI5mtVGEk.
KC says
Thank you for your reporting.
We live in Grand Haven and I am pretty sure we heard the tornado, if that is what it was. It sounded like a long,on-going explosion. I ran to get our young daughter from her room.
So sorry for all the people with damaged property.
Weather Watcher says
More coming in from all over Flagler county. https://www.facebook.com/matt.hathaway.33/videos/10157442504453935/UzpfSTU4NDcwMTUyMDpWSzozMjYyNjQyNjIwNDE1NzUx/?fref=nf
E, ROBOT says
Not surprised that even the heavens are appalled at the absurdity of a traffic circle on US 1.
I forgot. Can anyone remind me of how this assault on common sense is supposed to save the planet from terminal over-heating?
Sorry to hear about property damage, but thankful there are no reports of injuries
tulip says
I signed up for Code Red from the emergency services that calls your phone with a recorded message about severe weather and other emergencies. My phone did not ring, come to think of it, but I have a NOAA weather radio from years ago which went off. Did anyone’s phone ring about the storm?
Steve Buch says
Damage across the north end of Eagle Lakes on Old King’s Rd. Palm tree snapped in half, several fence panels blown out, snapped branches on trees along Old Kings Rd
Outsider says
Thanks for the quick reporting on this; it kept me in the loop as I was out of town and this tornado went through our backyard causing minor damage. It was REALLY close!
Dan Gallagher says
My house got it real bad…lost my lanai and 10 big trees, my roof lifted….gonna be a long road ahead of us…please pray
T.F. says
I remember hearing my dog going crazy and it sounding like a jumbo jet flying right over us. the tornado passed straight through my neighborhood and dropped a tree on my neighbors house. living near bulow means hundred year old oaks twice the size of a house that drop every other storm.