90-year-old woman weathered tornado as it raged past Clearwater Beach neighborhood

'Like a freight train': Survivor recounts moment tornado struck his home in Florida

Clearwater Beach resident Cory Jursik captured images of the destruction left behind by a tornado early Thursday morning. Oct. 12, 2023. 

CLEARWATER BEACH, Fla. - Clearwater Beach officials are still working to clean up the debris and assess damage after an EF-2 tornado ripped through a residential area in the early morning Thursday.

The National Weather Service confirmed the tornado's 110-mile-per-hour winds caused severe destruction, including smashed windows, torn roofs, and downed trees. The winds were even powerful enough to throw the back porch of one home into the front yard. Clearwater Police have confirmed that no one was injured. 

Local residents were alerted of the threat by an emergency notification to their phones around 2:00 a.m. Clearwater Fire Rescue responded, helping people get out. 

A 90-year-old woman who lives in one of the houses damaged -- and now deemed uninhabitable -- weathered the storm by herself overnight.

FLORIDA SLAMMED BY MULTIPLE EF-2 TORNADOES WITH DAMAGE REPORTED ON BOTH COASTS

Damage left behind by multiple apparent tornado strikes in Florida on Oct. 12, 2023. Left: Clearwater, FloridaCenter: Crystal River, Florida (Photo: Holly Slay)Right: Palm Coast, Florida

(FOX Weather)

"She was in bed asleep, and she awoke because there was rain on her face. [The tornado] had blown through her windows and door by her bed, and glass was flying on top of her, so she put a pillow over her head and covers over her head until it all stopped," Jodi Sibson said, the daughter of the 90-year-old resident. "She weathered it out [which was] amazing. But she was ground zero."

The National Weather Service was on the ground surveying the damage and warned that this is an El Niño winter, so there might be more severe weather in the Tampa Bay area in the coming months.

EF-2 TORNADO FLIPS CARS, LEAVES DAMAGE TRAIL IN SOUTH FLORIDA AS STORMS RACE ACROSS SUNSHINE STATE

"She was in bed asleep, and she awoke because there was rain on her face. [The tornado] had blown through her windows and door by her bed, and glass was flying on top of her, so she put a pillow over her head and covers over her head until it all stopped," Jodi Sibson said, the daughter of the 90-year-old resident. "She weathered it out [which was] amazing. But she was ground zero."

The National Weather Service was on the ground surveying the damage and warned that this is an El Niño winter, so there might be more severe weather in the Tampa Bay area in the coming months.

A tornado is assigned a rating from 0 to 5 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale to estimate its intensity in terms of damage and destruction caused along the twister’s path.

(FOX Weather)