Tornado Hits Tallahassee, Damages Airport

Tornado

27 Jan 2021, 2:59 pm

A confirmed tornado swept through the southern side of Tallahassee Wednesday morning, with damage reported by the National Weather Service at the Tallahassee International Airport and in the Southwood area.

The damage assessment is underway at @TLHAirport, which remains closed. pic.twitter.com/9q9wg3yfZo

— City of Tallahassee (@CityofTLH) January 27, 2021

The Tallahassee airport was closed shortly after the tornado hit so officials could access damage. It reopened about two hours after the incident.

The airport is home to the Tallahassee Weather Radar which stopped transmitting data shortly after the tornado signature moved over the area.

Reports from @NWSTallahassee that the TLH radar is down after a radar confirmed tornado passed through. The #Tornado Warning continues as the storm pushes east of the @TLHAirport. TAKE SHELTER IMMEDIATELY IF YOU ARE IN THE WARNED AREA. pic.twitter.com/E56n02yDpZ

— WeatherNation (@WeatherNation) January 27, 2021

According to the National Weather Service in Tallahassee, radar techs were on their way to access damage shortly after 12:10 p.m. EST. Data from the radar site resumed function around 12:45 p.m. EST.

Here’s some pics of damage at ktlh from the confirmed tornado that just passed, and of course, a picture of the radar since the last year or so has not been kind to radars. @NWSTallahassee pic.twitter.com/wUYsGv1jZB

— Harrison Prieto (@harr1sonpr1eto) January 27, 2021

These photos, taken shortly after the tornado moved through. Multiple large branches can been seen broken on the ground.

We're continuing to investigate information from Florida after damage was reported at the Tallahassee International Airport from a #tornado. Video: hondarida5 pic.twitter.com/pHb0FM0ZkU

— WeatherNation (@WeatherNation) January 27, 2021

Heavy rain can be seen in the above video, taken around the time the tornado was moving through the area.

This comes just two days after a deadly EF-3 tornado ripped through Fultondale, Alabama on Monday.

Meteorologists at the National Weather Service in Tallahassee conducted a storm survey on Wednesday afternoon and determined the tornado’s damage was equivalent to EF-0 status. They estimated the path length of the tornado to be nearly 17 miles and the maximum width to be 200 yards!

This article will be updated as additional information becomes available.

About the author

Rob Bradley

Rob grew up in South Florida, where daily afternoon storms and hurricanes piqued his interest in meteorology early on. That interest was fostered by his teachers and his father, who one time brought him onto the roof of their home to watch a funnel cloud move through the Everglades several miles away. ... Load MoreYears of filmmaking and tv production in high school gradually pushed him toward broadcast meteorology at Florida State University, where he joined and eventually led the student run daily weather show. After graduating with a Bachelors of Science in Meteorology, he began his career at KESQ in Palm Springs, California before heading to KFSN in Fresno and WLOS in Asheville, North Carolina. He has covered a diverse array of extreme weather events, including haboobs and flash flooding in the desert, extreme snow in the Sierra, hurricanes, and Appalachian ice storms. He also enjoys telling stories and reporting about weather issues. Connect with Rob on Twitter