Panama City Beach Tornado Today 2022 (2024)

FAQs

What size was the tornado that hit Panama City Beach? ›

PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla.

– Panama City Beach resident Will West spoke to FOX Weather about when a tornado swept through his neighborhood on Tuesday morning. With wind speeds measuring between 136 and 165 mph, the tornado was given a preliminary rating of EF-3 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale.

Along the Florida panhandle, the cities of Mexico Beach and Panama City suffered the worst of Michael, incurring catastrophic damage from the extreme winds and storm surge.

South winds 5 to 10 knots. Seas around 2 feet. Wave Detail: Southwest 2 feet at 6 seconds and east 1 foot at 3 seconds. Protected waters a light chop.

- As daylight broke along Florida's panhandle, residents in Panama City Beach got a glimpse of the damage left behind after a tornado touched down Tuesday morning. Video shot by Chris Keefe showed the path of destruction the tornado left in its wake on the east end of Panama City Beach.

PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. (WMBB) – One of the hardest hit areas is the section of Thomas Drive, from the Grand Lagoon Bridge South to the beaches. Homes, businesses, and an apartment building were all damaged or destroyed.

An EF-3 tornado tracked through Washington County into Jackson County Florida during the early morning hours of Thursday , March 31, 2022.

GREEN FLAG: Low Hazard with calm conditions, but caution still advised.

The Atlantic hurricane seasons lasts from June to November. It is important for everyone in the Panama City Beach area to keep an eye on tropical weather, so you will have time to prepare if you need. The most dangerous element is the storm surge (how far inland the waters will come).

Have any hurricanes hit Florida twice before? Loops are rare for tropical storms and hurricanes, but it's happened. In 2004, Hurricane Ivan nipped the Panhandle when it made landfall near Gulf Shores, Alabama as a major Category 3 hurricane.

With over 300 days of sunshine per year, it's a desirable destination year-round. On average, you can expect around 6 rainy days per month in October, November, April, and May. December–March usually has around 9 rainy days per month. The summer months, June–September, happen to be the rainiest time of the year.

Why is the water red in Panama City Beach? ›

Red Tide is algae bloom, a phenomenon where algae rapidly accumulate in a concentrated area in coastal waters. These algae can form visible patches near the water's surface that contain photosynthetic pigments which can be shades of green, brown or red.

However, Panama City Beach is unique, as it only experiences diurnal tides — one high and one low tide during a 24-hour rotation. These wave periods only occur in Antarctica, Australia and certain points along the Gulf of Mexico due to massive chunks of continental land obstructing the path of tidal bulges.

Storm-related injuries were reported in Florida, but no deaths. A section of Panama City Beach showed parts of roofs blown away, furniture, fences and debris strewn about and a house that appeared tilted on side, leaning on another home.

Tornadoes and severe thunderstorms are more frequent in South Florida than some people realize. Since 1996, South Florida has averaged 11 reported tornadoes per year, and since 1950 a total of 154 tornadoes of EF-1 or EF-2 intensity on the Enhanced Fujita Scale (winds greater than 85 mph) have occurred.

It's far larger than the average F5 tornado considering that the tornado takes up half a TV screen and it appears to also block anything for miles across. Out of every tornado encountered in the film, this tornado makes the most noise. It whistles, howls, growls and snarls.

The El Reno tornado, with its maximum width of 2.6 miles would go down in the books as the widest tornado ever recorded, surpassing the previous record-holder, the May 22, 2004, 2.5 mile wide F4 that struck Hallam, Nebraska, just outside the KCAU 9 viewing area in Lancaster County.