2 Tornadoes Touched Down In Pasco County Area: National Weather Service

HUDSON, FL — Two EF-0 tornadoes touched down in the Pasco County area Tuesday afternoon as a band of severe thunderstorms moved through the region, Stephen Shiveley, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, confirmed to Patch.

A tornado's damage intensity is often rated on the Enhanced Fujita Scale, according to the NWS. Their rating is based on estimated wind speeds and related damage, with the lowest being an EF-0 with three-second gusts of 65 to 85 mph and the strongest being an EF-5 with gusts more than 200 mph.

Both tornadoes had a maximum wind of 85 mph.

The first touched down in Hudson, traveling 1.19 miles between from 2:14 to 2:19 p.m., Shiveley said.

The second hit from 2:43 to 2:48 p.m. just outside Spring Hill in Hernando County, traveling .69 miles, he said.

“Here in Florida, we don’t see them stay on the ground for too long,” unlike in the Midwest, according to Shiveley.

The tornadoes caused some damage, bringing down tree limbs and fences in the area, and partially damaging the roofs of at least two homes.

“But I don’t think anything substantial, like a whole house fell over or a mobile home got picked up,” Shiveley said. “Nothing like that.”