County cleans up after major storm system
Ashley Hunter
ECB Publishing, Inc.
March ended with a whirl, as Jefferson County and neighboring Madison County experienced several tornadoes on the evening of Tuesday, March 31.
According to the National Weather Service (NWS), a confirmed EF-1 tornado was spotted 16 miles south of Monticello, in the Lamont area, at around 4:12 p.m.
The tornado had been confirmed by radar and was estimated to be moving eastward at about 55 miles-per-hour.
The Jefferson County Emergency Management says that a second tornado eventually followed the first one reported by the NWS; both twisters traveled through the portion of the county that was south of Lamont, both headed northeast.
The tornado-producing storm was caused by a strong low-pressure system that extended from the Tennessee Valley to the Gulf Coast; the strong line of storms moved across the Florida Big Bend ahead of a cold front, which temporarily lowered temperatures after the skies had cleared.
According to Jefferson County Sheriff Mac McNeill, after it was safe to venture out, the Jefferson County Sheriffs Office (JCSO) and Jefferson County Road Department (JCRD) set to work on evaluating the damage left behind by the tornado as well as cleaning up the mess of debris.
Sheriff McNeill says that no homes were substantially damaged by the twisters and no county residents sustained injuries as a result of the storm.
The majority of citizen’s property damage, Sheriff McNeill adds, was to fences that had trees fallen over them.
Several roads, however, in the southern part of the county – near Lamont – had sustained substantial blockages from fallen trees.
Lanier Road and Walker Springs Road both required heavy equipment in order to clear the majorly blocked roadways.
Just a bit north of the two roads, South Salt Road had minor blockage, and was quickly cleared.
Assisting the county's sheriff's office and road department was the Florida Wildlife Commission (FWC), Georgia-Florida Aviation Search Team (G-FAST) and Jefferson County Clerk of Court Kirk Reams.
The agencies and volunteers headed out with machinery, trucks and chainsaws and worked quickly to clear the roads and allow safe travel for county residents.
Over in Madison County, the damage was more thorough, with several structures being hit by the tornado and eastbound traffic on I-10 near Greenville being blocked due to fallen trees, debris and downed power lines.
Other Big Bend counties that experienced tornadoes due to this storm system were Lafayette, Taylor, Suwannee and Hamilton.
Franklin County reported a waterspout that temporarily came ashore between Eastpoint and Carrabelle.
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