Damage from 2 tornadoes closes schools, damages homes on Florida’s west coast

CITRUS COUNTY, Fla. — One Florida school district canceled classes on Thursday after strong storms moved through the greater Tampa Bay area, spurring tornadoes that damaged homes and made roads impassable.

Citrus County Public Schools canceled all classes due to “significant damage” from a tornado in Crystal River, which is on the county’s west side.

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“Right now, we have teams assessing damage at schools and will get more insight into the full scope of damage to buildings once the sun comes up,” district officials said early Thursday.

Read: Weather Alert Day: Strong storms, possible tornados cause damage in parts of Central Florida

The Citrus County Sheriff’s Office said they have closed off several roads in the Crystal River area due to emergency response to tornado damage.

Pinellas County also reported storm damage on Thursday.

SEE: Storm damage from across Florida

Clearwater police posted photos of damage to cars, homes and trees on social media, and said they are restricting access to the northern part of Clearwater Beach due to the damage.

The National Weather Service confirmed Thursday afternoon that an EF2 tornado hit Crystal River and an EF1 tornado hit Clearwater.

Read: Potential tornado damages homes, flips cars in Palm Coast

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