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Storm blusters through Crystal River
By ALEX LEARY and SUZANNAH GONZALES CRYSTAL RIVER -- A fierce midafternoon storm swept through Citrus County on Thursday, toppling trees, pelting cars with hail and leaving several thousand people without electricity. "It was real nasty," said Pete Shaffer, manager of Tire Kingdom, who watched the wind rip a hole through, then demolish the plastic sign outside the Crystal River business. "It looked almost like a tornado, like it was trying to make one," Shaffer said. Rough weather was reported across the county, but Crystal River appeared to take the hardest hit, officials said, experiencing nickel-sized hail, strong wind, lightning and street flooding. A number of trees and power lines were reported down or dangling. Homes and cars suffered slight damage from being struck by trees and limbs. Weather-related car accidents also were reported, but no serious injuries resulted, Citrus County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Gail Tierney said. The National Weather Service said there were no confirmed tornado sightings but reported wind gusts up to 50 mph. At the Crystal River High School baseball diamond, wind damaged netting and a tarp and blew over the Mike Hampton Field sign. One gust tore the roof off a carport at Crystal River Airport, leaving twisted strips of aluminum across the lawn. The debris somehow missed the nearby office and only scraped one car. An amphibious plane suffered minor damage when it tipped over on its left wing and pontoon. "We were very fortunate," airport director Tom Davis said. Progress Energy crews spent the afternoon reponding to power outages. Spokesman Mac Harris said 3,300 customers were without power for an hour or more. About 2,500 customers lived in south Crystal River, near Venable Street, and east of U.S. 19, near the shopping mall. The rest were scattered across the county, Harris said. At about 3 p.m., Coast Guard officers in Yankeetown were a little worried. The winds were stronger than what their vessels could have handled,Petty Officer Stewart Yoon explained. A search and rescue effort was launched for a fishing boat in Crystal River after someone on land reported that it may be in distress and taking on water. After locating the boat, officials discovered the report was a false alarm. And in the end, the Coast Guard didn't have to take much action because of the storm. "We were concerned for a little while," Yoon said, "but I think it passed us."
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