Tornadoes touched down in St. Johns, Bradford counties, officials say

Officials confirmed two tornadoes touched down in Northeast Florida as strong storms made their way across our area.

Damage was reported in St. Johns and Bradford counties after EF-1 tornadoes touched down.

Photos: Viewers wake up to storm damage

Residents say storms that came through the Northeast Florida area overnight caused damage.

The National Weather Service is expected to survey the areas Wednesday.

Bradford County 

The National Weather Service said an EF-1 tornado touched down Tuesday night in Lawtey.

Lawtey Elementary School is closed Wednesday due to damage that occurred during the storms, according to school officials. All other Bradford County Schools are open.

Nassau County 

The Nassau County Courthouse was damaged after storms came through the area overnight.

The Nassau County Sheriff's Office said about nine windows were cracked. Three or four vehicles used by the clerk of court’s office were damaged, with a street sign that blew into one of them.

The damage is expected to be cleaned up quickly.

Clay County 

All schools in Clay County are open Wednesday, according to school officials.

A home was damaged in Clay County after a tree fell.

“It’s very scary knowing that this much damage came from just a storm," said Stephanie Lamb.

As of Wednesday morning, there are more than 11,000 accounts out of service due to the storm, and around 7,000 of those accounts are in the Orange Park and Middleburg area, according to Clay Electric.

Most of the outages were reported in the Orange Park, Lake City, Keystone Heights and Gainesville districts. The outages are due to trees and tree limbs falling on the lines and equipment, plus lightning-related damage, Clay Electric said.

Clay Electric told Action News Jax partners News 104.5 WOKV that there were 5,000 accounts that experienced outages due to the storm that have had service restored early Wednesday morning.

More Photos: Viewers wake up to storm damage in Northeast Florida

An Orange Park District line supervisor said they have to replace 15 broken poles and at least a dozen transformers due to storm damage.

Additional crews from other districts are coming to help and will work all day to restore service, Clay Electric said. Some outages may be lengthy due to the severity of damage.

The exact time of restoration is not known because the severity of damage is so varied, Clay Electric said.

St. Johns County 

Officials confirmed Wednesday that an EF-1 tornado ripped through Heritage Landing in St. Johns County.

Officials responded Tuesday evening to reports of damage to several homes and vehicles in the 2600 block of Snail Kite Court.

Crews found that many homes and vehicles may have been damaged by wind during the storm. Officials have not confirmed what caused the damage.

St. Johns County Fire Rescue assisted in securing the structures as much as possible. Several homes will need to be evaluated by building professionals prior to being determined safe for occupation, SJCFR said.

No injuries were reported.

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