Possible Tornado Strikes New Port Richey

Article originally written and reported by Alex Tiegen June 26, 2012

Tropical Storm Debby might have brought more than rain to New Port Richey. A possible tornado was reported in the Greenwood Street neighborhood Sunday evening.

New Port Richey Police Chief James Steffens said authorities consider the weather system to be in the family of a " tornadic" event, but it has not been confirmed that it was an official tornado. High winds were reported.

Steffens said there were no injuries or fatalities from the storm, although there was damage to at least one house from the probable tornado.

The first Patch heard of the event was from Melissa Krpal of Greenwood Street , who wrote on her Facebook page that a tornado came through her neighborhood.

"It was the tornado that touched near Gulf High, we watched it come through. It was pretty freaky, all you could see was just white and debris flying every where; watched two transformers explode. We were standing in the living room wondering if was going to turn our way. School Rd is completely flooded (actually right now as I am typing this - yes still sitting in my front living room - two people are kayaking down School Rd), there are two houses that we can see where the roofs were ripped off; thankfully they aren't occupied. All the streets around here are flooded. We are pretty much stuck. Various cops have been driving by and checking on everyone. It is definitely a mess over here."

Her house is OK, although she's calling it Calamity Central.

Steffens said around 8:50 p.m. Sunday that flooding in the New Port Richey area was a major concern and some streets were impassible. Several cars were left abandoned in the roads. Even police have been having trouble getting around.

"We're asking people not to venture out right now," he said.

The National Weather Service has extended its tornado watch for the entire region until 2 p.m. Monday.

If people's homes are flooded, they can go to the shelter at 11611 Denton Ave, in Hudson.  Public Transit Buses can  assist residents who require transportation to shelters and will be staging at State Road 52 and US 19 at the northeast corner and at Anclote Elementary School at 3610 Madison Street in New Port Richey.

Do you have photos of the damage from the storm? Upload them here or email them to Alex.Tiegen@patch.com