By Shoshana Walter
The Ledger
LAKELAND, Fla. — Two tornadoes, wind and rain swept across Polk County late Thursday afternoon.
One tornado damaged buildings and displaced residents at the Grenelefe Golf and Tennis Resort east of Haines City.
Emergency workers remained overnight at Grenelefe to assess damage. The Polk County Sheriff’s Office said no injuries were reported from the apparent tornado that touched down in the Marion Creek Road area.
But the roofs of five buildings were damaged and as many as 40 people were evacuated, said Polk Fire and EMS spokeswoman Heather Smith.
The Red Cross opened a shelter at the Northridge Church at 2250 S.R. 17 in Haines City.
A telephone pole was blown over when another tornado touched down in the Auburndale area, the National Weather Service said.
A teenager was taken to Lakeland Regional Medical Center after being shocked by lightning through his umbrella in North Lakeland. He was not seriously injured, Polk Fire and EMS said.
No serious injuries were reported in Polk but agencies all over the county said they were dealing with car accidents caused by wet road conditions, including flooding on Havendale Boulevard near the Boys and Girls Club in Winter Haven.
Bay News 9 meteorologists said parts of the county received about 4 inches of rain and power outages were reported.
The National Weather Service issued a tornado watch as the storm system moved into East Polk from the Zephyrhills area a little before 4 p.m. Winds at Winter Haven Airport reached 52 mph. Polk was under a tornado watch until 5:15 p.m.
Meteorologists said to expect heavy rain again today.
Todd Barron of the National Weather Service said not to be surprised if Polk sees another tornado watch this afternoon.
Another round of severe thunderstorms is expected to push eastward through Polk and Hillsborough counties starting this morning. The storms should pass through by the late afternoon, he said, and the rain will begin to taper off in the early evening.
Copyright 2010 Lakeland Ledger Publishing Corporation