Severe Storm Threat Heads For Florida on Monday

Strong to severe thunderstorms took aim at Florida on Monday, April 20, from the same weather system that spawned destructive storms in other parts of the South on Sunday, April 19.

Just over 150 reports of severe weather – including damaging winds or wind damage, tornadoes and large hail – were received by the National Weather Service from April 19 into early April 20. Those reports were scattered from eastern Texas to southern Georgia and southern South Carolina.

The National Weather Service reported a large and dangerous tornado in southern Marion, southern and central Lamar and east-central Forrest counties in southeastern Mississippi early Sunday evening. Reports from the NWS and storm chasers in Marion County noted that trees were shredded and uprooted, power poles were snapped and power lines were on the ground.

A brief tornado touched down just west of West Columbia, Texas, Sunday afternoon, but no damage was reported in the area. Another brief tornado was reported near Quitman, Mississippi, later Sunday afternoon, according to the NWS.

Sunday's storms also caused flash flooding. In Hattiesburg, Mississippi, there were reports of street flooding and high-water rescues Sunday evening, and water up to 3-feet deep was reportedly entering businesses in nearby Columbia, Mississippi, the NWS said.

Severe Weather and Coronavirus: Do I Shelter?

If you don't have a safe place to seek shelter from a storm, should you find a public shelter in this age of COVID-19?

The simple answer: yes.

"Do not let the virus prevent you from seeking refuge from a tornado," the American Meteorological Society said in a statement issued on April 9. "If a public tornado shelter is your best available refuge from severe weather, take steps to ensure you follow CDC guidelines for physical distancing and disease prevention."

But you need to know where to go and IF you can go to a shelter BEFORE a storm threatens.

“Most government entities use schools … you can only get so many people in those schools," Steven Still, director of emergency management in New Hanover County, North Carolina, told weather.com.

Of course, many schools are closed during this pandemic, so your normal shelter may not be open. And those shelters that are open may not accept as many people.

In all cases, if you are in a mobile home, absolutely find a different shelter option.

The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.