DEROSA - Some people thought it sounded like a train. But what whistled through northwest Citrus just before midnight Monday could have been a tornado.
National Weather Service forecasters weren't sure exactly what hit. By late afternoon Tuesday, they were leaning toward classifying it as a weak tornado, said NWS meteorologist Ron Morales.
Whatever it was, it caused significant damage.
Seven older mobile homes were "completely destroyed," according to Ronda Hemminger Evan of the Citrus County Sheriff's Office. Seven more were considered uninhabitable, including one mobile home on Candleglow Street that flipped over and a house on Sunset Drive whose roof partially was blown off.
An elderly woman inside that house rode out the storm, even after the roof was damaged, before notifying authorities Tuesday morning, county officials said. She was brought to Seven Rivers Regional Medical Center and treated for minor injuries to her eye. One other person was injured, according to the county's public safety director, Charles Poliseno.
Thirty-three buildings were minimally damaged.
About 400 Citrus customers were without power at the height of the storm, said Rick Janka, Progress Energy Florida spokesman. Power was restored to all blacked-out homes by morning.
The storm stole power from about 6,000 Progress Energy customers in the state. Progress Energy serves 1.5-million Florida customers.
Two shelters were opened in Citrus, Poliseno said. American Red Cross volunteers manned the Crystal River Methodist Church through the night, and Seven Rivers opened its lobby and cafeteria to displaced residents. But no one showed up, county officials said.
Emergency dispatchers began fielding calls shortly before midnight from residents who live mostly north of County Road 488 and west of County Road 495.
Four fire districts were dispatched to the area late Monday night, and fire and road maintenance crews began scouring the dark streets to clear roads of fallen debris.
Emergency response efforts were coordinated from the DeRosa fire station, and the 3-square-mile area struck by the storm was gridded on a map before fire trucks were sent out to check every area home, taking note of downed power lines and trees as they went.
Neighborhoods hit hardest included the Lake Rousseau RV and Fishing Resort, Quail Roost RV Campground and the Riverbend Ranches neighborhood. At the Lake Rousseau RV park, the electricity went out and oak tree limbs - some as big as tree trunks - fell on top of RVs, the recreation hall and a car.
"As long as everybody's okay, that's the main thing," said the RV park owner, Jo Hatton.
Using floodlights, workers repaired what they could. At daybreak, Poliseno said, emergency responders went back out to assess damage.
In total, 45 volunteer firefighters, five public safety officers, 10 road maintenance workers, six Sheriff's Office and emergency management officials, four Homosassa Auxiliary volunteers, two American Red Cross volunteers, five Nature Coast EMS workers and a host of power workers responded to the scene.
The storm surprised emergency management officials without any prior warning from the National Weather Service, Poliseno said.
"It came down hard and fast and then it came down in waves," he said.
The area that was hit is one where storms are likely to develop, said National Weather Service forecaster Morales. The damage he saw on television, like the pieces of metal twisted in a tree, seems consistent with that from a tornado, he said.
From 6 p.m. Monday night until late Tuesday afternoon, the northern half of Citrus got 2 to 4 inches of rain, according to NWS radar estimates read by Morales. The southeast part of the county saw less, 1 to 11/2 inches.
A flood watch is in effect in Citrus until 3 p.m. today.
Poliseno said the storm was the fourth time in about four years that the northwest section of the county has been hit with tornado-force gusts. Last year, a tornado leveled some parts near the Levy-Citrus county lines along the west side of U.S. 19.
Damage assessments are not yet completed, county officials warned. "With daylight, we're just getting a handle on what's happening out there," Poliseno said Tuesday afternoon.
Tuesday afternoon, county commissioners authorized spending $36,000 for debris cleanup. Public works director Ken Frink said one-third of the storm debris fell on public property while residents probably will pile the rest onto roadsides for county workers to pick up.
County officials said its insurance carrier will visit damage areas to determine if Citrus County can be reimbursed.
After the damage is assessed, a dollar amount is determined. Depending on how much damage was done, Evan said, officials may pursue Federal Emergency Management Agency assistance, which could provide homeowners and the county with grants for restoration.
Elsewhere in the county, there were scattered power outages. Ernie Holzhauer, spokesman for Withlacoochee River Electric Cooperative, said the few that were reported originated from areas near Old Homosassa, where a car struck a pole during the storm and knocked out power there. These outages were restored by Monday night, Holzhauer said.
