Tropical storm Debby has been pounding the west coast of Florida for several days with wind, rain, and storm surge. If that wasn’t enough, a waterspout came ashore Sunday night at the south end of Pass-a-Grille beach and did significant, but not catastrophic damage everywhere. There were about 20 properties that were in pretty bad shape, but much of the debris had been cleared by the time I arrived late Monday afternoon. I was unable to video the worst damage because of the flooded streets and I didn’t want to get in the way of the work crews. Here are some of the photos I took:
Getting to Pass-a-Grille required a bit of slogging through water.
Major erosion on Pass-a-Grille Beach.
I’m assuming that ALL the sea turtle nests were wiped out. Fortunately, nesting season is not over yet, so more eggs can be laid.
Twisted sign and uprooted sea grape tree indicates very strong winds were here.
Below is the spot that the water spout came ashore. It literally scoured the foliage and the sand, laying waste to this spot, probably in less than 30 seconds.
The storm surge completely inundated the beach near the jetty.
Surfers in some very rough water by the jetty.
Local news station getting ready for the 6pm news report on Pass-a-Grille Beach.
The storm surge really backed up in the bay. These docks are under water. Some are destroyed.
Sea Critters Cafe, dockside.
This boat didn’t make it through the storm.
The much publicized Pass-a-Grille Marina damage. Actually, most of the marina looks OK. Just the south end and the southeast corner sustained damage.
Video of Pass-a-Grille water spout / tornado:
I think this is a photo of the water spout that came ashore around 8:30 Sunday evening at Pass-a-grille:
Not sure who took this but this is awesomeness! #tornado #flwx twitter.com/wx4tcc/status/…
— Kenny Evans (@wx4tcc) June 25, 2012
