Exclusive: Chopper 2 video shows extensive tornado damage in Seminole County
Updated: 1:25 PM EDT Mar 10, 2025
WELL, AGAIN, I FIRST I WANT TO THANK MEMBERS OF THE MEDIA WHO METEOROLOGISTS BACK AT THE STATIONS, PEOPLE ON THE RADIO WERE KEEPING OUR CITIZENS INFORMED AS THIS FAST MOVING STORM HEADED ACROSS SEMINOLE COUNTY AND PAVED OUT A PATH WHERE PEOPLE COULD FIND SAFE HAVENS AND SAFETY. AND IT’S NOTHING SHORT OF A MIRACLE FOR THESE TWO INDIVIDUALS IN THIS PARTICULAR HOME. THAT IS 88% DESTROYED, THAT THEY WERE ABLE TO MAKE IT OUT THERE SAFELY. SO, AGAIN, THANK YOU TO OUR TO OUR MEDIA PARTNERS TO KEEP EVERYONE INFORMED ABOUT WHAT WAS HAPPENING. WHEN SITUATIONS LIKE THIS HAPPEN, WE HAVE GREAT CONFIDENCE IN ALAN HARRIS AND HIS TEAM WITH EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT. OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH THE FIRE DEPARTMENT AND OUR BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS. THE MESSAGE IS ALWAYS THE SAME AFTER THIS THING, WE WANT TO DISCOURAGE PEOPLE FROM SIGHTSEEING. WE’RE GOING TO HAVE A MARKED PATROL DEPUTY AT THE AT THE ENTRY WAY TO THESE SUBDIVISIONS THAT ARE MOST DIRECTLY AFFECTED. THAT WILL BE FOR AT LEAST THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS. SO THERE WILL BE A DEPUTY AT THE INTERSECTION OF ANY DAMAGE PRONE AREA THAT THAT THAT HAS BEEN AFFECTED THROUGHOUT SEMINOLE COUNTY. THERE’S ABOUT 500 RESIDENTS OR SO THAT ARE STILL WITHOUT POWER. WE WILL EVALUATE THAT WITH OUR PARTNERS, WITH DUKE ENERGY, FLORIDA POWER AND LIGHT. AND IF POWER IS STILL OUT AT AT AT THE TIME, IT BECOMES DARK HERE IN SEMINOLE COUNTY, WE’RE GOING TO HAVE ADDITIONAL MARKED PATROL DEPUTIES AND ANTI-CRIME UNITS PATROLLING THOSE AREAS. AGAIN, WHEN POWER’S OUT THAT THAT THAT BRINGS WITH IT SOME CHALLENGES. WE’LL MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE ADEQUATE RESOURCES AT THE SHERIFF’S OFFICE TO MAKE SURE THAT ANY CITIZEN IS PREPARED FOR THAT. WE DON’T KNOW OF ANY INTERSECTIONS THAT ARE WITHOUT POWER. AGAIN, AS A AS A REMINDER, SHOULD YOU EVER COME UP TO AN INTERSECTION WITHOUT POWER, YOU TREAT THAT AS A FOUR WAY STOP POWER LINES. YOU’VE HEARD ALL OF US SAY POWER LINES ARE INCREDIBLY DANGEROUS. MOST SITUATIONS THAT OCCUR ARE OCCUR AFTER THE STORM THAT RESULT IN IN HARM INJURY, AND SOMETIMES FATALITY. SO IF YOU SEE A POWER LINE DOWN, DON’T TRY TO EXPERIMENT. WHAT THAT LINE IS. CALL SOMEBODY. WE’LL HAVE DEPUTIES IN AND AROUND THE AREA. CALL 911. CALL OUR NON-EMERGENCY LINE. WHATEVER WE CAN DO TO BE A GOOD PARTNER. AGAIN, THESE STORMS MOVE FAST. IT’S SOMETHING THAT WE’VE EXPERIENCED, ALTHOUGH NOT IN RECENT YEARS, BUT WE’VE HAD SOME EXPERIENCE HERE IN SEMINOLE COUNTY. WE WANT TO HELP OUR OUR CITIZENS AND NEIGHBORS REBUILD. AND OUR OFFICE STANDS AT THE READY FOR WHATEVER WE CAN DO TO BE A GOOD PARTNER FOR THAT. SO AGAIN, THANK YOU SO, SO MUCH. WILL THERE BE ADDITIONAL PRESSURES APART FROM THE ONE TODAY? SO WHEN CAN WE EXPECT AS WE NEED WE’LL WE’LL SET UP ADDITIONAL PRESS CONFERENCES. YEAH. WHAT IS YOUR MESSAGE TO THE PEOPLE THAT ARE AFFECTED. OBVIOUSLY THEY’RE NOW REBUILDING NOW. YEAH. SO WE HAVE FOLKS FROM OUR DAMAGE ASSESSMENT CREWS OUT RIGHT NOW. THE AMERICAN RED CROSS IS ALSO SEEN PROVIDING ASSESSMENTS AT THIS POINT TO IDENTIFY WHAT THE NEEDS ARE. AS I MENTIONED, WE’RE GOING TO BE OPENING UP THE TARP LOCATION SO PEOPLE WILL HAVE BLUE TARPS. I ALSO SAW SOME INDIVIDUALS THAT ALREADY HAD SOME OF THEIR ROOFERS OUT, SO THEY WERE ALREADY WORKING WITH A ROOFER COMPANY. AND OF COURSE, IF THEY DO THAT, THEY MAY NOT EVEN NEED A TARP. BUT WE’RE GOING TO HAVE TARPS OUT THERE FOR THOSE THAT NEED IT. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? YES. CHIEF ZELLER HAD SAID BEFORE THAT THE ONE HOUSE THAT COLLAPSED, THE ONLY PART OF THE HOUSE THAT DIDN’T COLLAPSE, JUST HAPPENED TO BE WHERE THEY WERE. CAN YOU JUST TALK ABOUT THAT A LITTLE BIT? YEAH. THAT’S THE IMPORTANCE OF OF QUICK ALERTS. HAVING A WEATHER RADIO OR SOME TYPE OF DEVICE WHERE YOU CAN GET A TORNADO WARNING GOING INTO THAT SAFE LOCATION, JUST LIKE COMMISSIONER HEARD DID, OR VICE CHAIR HER DID. THAT’S WHAT YOU WANT TO DO. WE’VE EXPERIENCED THIS A COUPLE TIMES. WE HAD A TORNADO IN CASSELBERRY 2007 2008. THE FAMILY MOVED INTO THAT ONE ROOM. I DON’T KNOW IF YOU REMEMBER THAT, BUT THE REST OF THE HOME DESTROYED AND THEY WOULD HAVE HAD THEY NOT MOVED INTO THAT ROOM. SO THANKFULLY, THIS COUPLE ALSO MOVED INTO THE ROOM OF SAFETY. THAT’S WHAT WE WANT PEOPLE TO DO, EVEN IN OUR OWN BUILDINGS, BECAUSE WE WERE IN THE THE CONE OF DANGER, OWN BUILDINGS. WE WERE WE HAD PEOPLE MOVING TO LOWER FLOORS AND INTERIOR CORRIDORS. OKAY. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU. WE’LL PROVIDE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AS IT COMES IN. OUR NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IS ON THE GROUND RIGHT NOW. ALL RIGHT. YOU’VE BEEN LISTENING TO THAT NEWS CONFERENCE THERE. WE HEARD FROM THE SHERIFF’S OFFICE, FROM COUNTY LEADERS, EMERGENCY MANAGERS, ALL OF THEM TRULY PRAISING. FIRST OF ALL, WHAT PEOPLE DID WHEN THIS STORM WAS MOVING IN. IT SOUNDS LIKE EVERY RESIDENT IN THAT NEIGHBORHOOD, AS WE LOOK AT THIS DAMAGE NOW FROM CHOPPER TWO, DID WHAT THEY WERE SUPPOSED TO DO. WE HEARD ABOUT PEOPLE GOING UNDER THEIR STAIRS WITH THEIR PETS, PEOPLE SEEKING COVER IN THEIR HOUSE AWAY FROM WINDOWS, AND THANK GOD THEY DID. BECAUSE NOW WE ARE REALLY, TRULY TAKING IN THE EXTENT OF THE DAMAGE HERE IN THIS NEIGHBORHOOD. THESE ARE LIVE PICTURES NOW FROM CHOPPER TWO OVER THE WHISPERING WINDS NEIGHBORHOOD. THERE, BLUE IRIS PLACE AND LONGWOOD A BEAUTIFUL COMMUNITY NOW LOOKING LIKE THIS. AND YOU JUST YOU HAVE TO EXPECT PEOPLE IN THIS NEIGHBORHOOD TO BE IN SHOCK LOOKING AT THESE PICTURES RIGHT NOW. AND IT IS ONE THING AS YOU GUYS TAKE A LIVE LOOK AT THE IMAGES THAT WE’RE SEEING FROM CHOPPER TWO, IT’S ONE THING TO HEAR PEOPLE ON THE GROUND OR NEIGHBORS TALKING ABOUT WHAT THEY EXPERIENCED, BUT IT’S COMPLETELY DIFFERENT TO SEE THE EXTENT OF DAMAGE AND JUST HOW WIDESPREAD IT IS. WE DO KNOW THAT THE FAMILY THAT LIVED IN THAT HOME, THEY ALL SURVIVED. THAT IS THE GREAT NEWS TO PASS ALONG THIS MORNING. OBVIOUSLY, LIKE, YOU KNOW, EMOTIONALLY IT MIGHT BE A DIFFERENT STORY, BUT PHYSICALLY THEY ARE OKAY. THEY MANAGED TO GET OUT DESPITE THAT. BUT IT’S ONE THING TO HEAR THE FIRE CHIEF TALK ABOUT THAT. AND THEN YOU SEE THE IMAGE FROM CHOPPER TWO. IT’S JUST INCREDIBLE. SO LET’S GET TO ERIC BURRIS. HE IS IN THE CHOPPER RIGHT NOW, LIVE. AND JOINING US WITH MORE FROM HIS PERSPECTIVE. AND ERIC, AS WE TAKE THIS IN FOR THE FIRST TIME, IT’S FROM THIS VIEW NOW FROM THE CHOPPER. IT’S IT’S SHOCKING TO SEE THAT DAMAGE, BUT IT’S ALSO INCREDIBLE TO SEE HOW ISOLATED IT IS. YOU CAN ALMOST SEE HOW THIS THING JUST CUT THROUGH THAT NEIGHBORHOOD, BECAUSE THERE ARE HOMES SO CLOSE TO THIS DEVASTATION THAT SEEM UNTOUCHED. WELL, AND THAT’S THAT’S THE SAD PART, RIGHT? ABOUT TORNADOES IS THAT THEY WILL GO OVER ONE HOME AND THEN THEY WILL IMPACT ONE HOME. BUT IN THIS AREA, I MEAN, IT’S VERY, VERY CLEAR. WE HAD A TORNADO ON THE GROUND AND FOR SEVERAL BLOCKS WORTH, JUST TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA OF LOCATION, KIND OF STEPPING BACK TO LOOK AT THE FOREST THROUGH THE TREES. WE’RE JUST SOUTH OF TAHLEQUAH, RIGHT ALONG MARKHAM WOODS, JUST OFF TO THE WEST OF I-4. HERE. AND YEAH, I MEAN, THESE ARE BIG, BEAUTIFUL PIECES OF PROPERTY. THERE’S A LOT OF TREES. AND WHILE WE WERE FLYING HERE BEFORE WE EVEN STUMBLED ON ANY DAMAGE OFF IN THE DISTANCE, YOU COULD SEE THESE TREETOPS SHREDDED. THAT WAS YOUR FIRST SIGNAL. THEN WE GOT CLOSER AND WE SAW SOME OF THESE HOMES WITH ROOF DAMAGE. SOME OF THESE HOMES WHERE THEIR WALLS ACTUALLY CAVED IN ON THEMSELVES. AND YOU CAN CLEARLY TELL THAT THE DAMAGE IS STREWN IN ALL DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS. ANOTHER TELLTALE SIGN THAT THERE WAS A TORNADO THAT TOUCHED DOWN. AND JUST LOOKING AROUND AT THE FOOTAGE, YOU CAN SEE THOSE TREES JUST COMPLETELY SHREDDED APART. IF THE BARK HAD BEEN PULLED FROM THEM, THAT WOULD HAVE GIVEN YOU AN IDEA OF A HIGHER END TORNADO. BUT IN THIS CASE, YOU KNOW, AS WE HEARD FROM ALLEN HARRIS JUST A FEW MOMENTS AGO, MAYBE A LOWER END TORNADO F0 EF ONE, WE’LL LET OUR COLLEAGUES AT THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MAKE THAT JUSTIFICATION. BUT ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE SCREEN, YOU SEE ONE HOUSE WITH SOME SIGNIFICANT ROOF DAMAGE, AND THEN THE OTHER HOUSE ON THE TOP RIGHT PART THERE, COMPLETELY PULLED APART. I MEAN, THINK ABOUT THE WINDS THAT HAD TO GENERATE FOR THAT TO HAPPEN, WHETHER IT WAS A WOOD BLOCK, A WOOD FRAME HOME VERSUS A CONCRETE STRUCTURE THAT HAS, YOU KNOW, SOME TELLTALE SIGN THERE, OF COURSE, IN WHAT IT CAN WITHSTAND. BUT IMAGINE BEING THE NEIGHBOR AND HEARING YOUR NEIGHBOR’S HOUSE COMPLETELY RIPPED APART. IMAGINE BEING IN THAT HOME AS YOUR WALLS ARE FAILING, NOT EVEN JUST YOUR ROOF, BUT THE WALLS ARE FAILING. AND, YOU KNOW, I COULD TELL YOU FIRSTHAND, AS THIS WAS GOING THROUGH THIS LOCATION, I WAS JUST A FEW MILES UP THE ROAD AT THE SANFORD AIRPORT WHERE THERE WERE LEAVES AND PIECES OF PAPER RAINING DOWN WITH THE RAIN. THAT IS JUST INCREDIBLE. SO YES, THIS MORNING WE HAD A ESSENTIALLY A SUPERCELL, MUCH LIKE WHAT YOU’LL SEE IN OKLAHOMA AND ARKANSAS DURING TORNADO SEASON. IT STARTED IN SUMTER COUNTY. I WAS WATCHING IT ON COFFEE TALK THIS MORNING ABOUT 815, AND I KEPT SAYING TO THE STORM LIKE, DON’T YOU DO IT, DON’T YOU DO IT? AND IT KIND OF GOT FEISTIER AND FEISTIER. AND BY ABOUT 830 IN SUMTER COUNTY, THERE WAS A TORNADO WARNING ISSUED. AND THEN, OF COURSE, WE KNOW IT ESSENTIALLY MOVED ALL THE WAY ACROSS. WE HAD TORNADO WARNING AFTER TORNADO WARNING UNTIL IT MOVED OFF THE SHORELINE THERE IN VOLUSIA COUNTY. THERE ARE A LOT OF CARS LINED UP JUST OUTSIDE OF THE MAIN DAMAGE ROUTE. CERTAINLY I’M EXPECTING THESE TO BE HOMEOWNERS THAT MAY NOT HAVE BEEN HOME. THERE’S GOING TO BE SOME RESPONDERS. I SEE A FRONT END LOADER ALREADY TRYING TO CLEAR THE ROADS OUT, BECAUSE EVEN IF YOUR HOUSE WAS NOT TOUCHED, YOU STILL NEED TO BE ABLE TO COME AND GO. AND THAT’S GOING TO BE, YOU KNOW, SECOND PRIORITY. AFTER EVERYBODY’S CHECKED IN ON TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY’RE SAFE. THEN WE WANT TO CLEAR THE ROADS, MAKE SURE THAT THERE’S NO DOWNED POWER LINES. AND, YOU KNOW, TRAVEL ALONG MARKHAM WOODS. YOU CAN KIND OF JUST BY LOOKING DOWN. TRAVEL IS IS IS VERY SLOW GOING, BUT IT IS ALLOWED TO GO THROUGH. I’M CURIOUS. LOOK AT THAT. JUST AS WE’RE LOOKING AT ANOTHER HOUSE THERE. I DON’T THINK WE’VE SEEN THIS ONE WITH THAT SIGNIFICANT ROOF DAMAGE THERE. ERIC, I’M CURIOUS, AS YOU WORKED YOUR WAY FROM EXECUTIVE AIRPORT IN ORLANDO, WHICH IS WHERE I ASSUME YOU WERE, WHERE YOU STARTED THIS FLIGHT AND YOU ENDED UP HERE. DID YOU BY ANY CHANCE, NOTICE ANY TRAFFIC LIGHTS OUT? IS THERE ANY ISSUES ON THE ROADS? I THINK A LOT OF PEOPLE, YOU KNOW, ARE AT WORK, AND THEY MAY BE WATCHING OUR COVERAGE ON THEIR PHONES OR COMPUTERS WONDERING, AM I SAFE TO, YOU KNOW, GO HOME, MAYBE THE KIDS LATER ON TODAY. DID YOU NOTICE ANY TRAFFIC ISSUES OUT THERE? YOU KNOW, THE GOOD NEWS IS WE WERE TRAVELING THROUGH SOME SPOTS. OF COURSE, THAT HAD GOTTEN SOME PRETTY GOOD WINDS. WE SAW A TREE DOWN A LITTLE WEST OF HERE ON A NEIGHBORHOOD, BUT NO, IT DID NOT LOOK LIKE THERE WERE ANY MAJOR TRAFFIC ISSUES. AND IT WASN’T UNTIL WE GOT RIGHT HERE THAT WE STARTED TO SEE SOME SOME BACKUPS. AND IT’S NOT EVEN THAT. IT’S THE TRAFFIC LIGHTS. IT’S MORE JUST THE EMERGENCY RESPONDERS DOING WHAT THEY HAVE TO DO, MAKING SURE TO BLOCK THESE ROADS OFF. THERE’S THERE’S FIRE TRUCKS THAT ARE BLOCKING SOME OF THE ROADS HERE, BECAUSE CERTAINLY THERE ARE TREES DOWN INHERENTLY. I SEE SOME BUCKET TRUCKS PROBABLY TRYING TO DO SOME WORK ON THE POWER LINES. THERE’S
Exclusive: Chopper 2 video shows extensive tornado damage in Seminole County
Updated: 1:25 PM EDT Mar 10, 2025
Storms brought a slew of tornado warnings to the Orlando area on Monday morning. A radar-confirmed tornado touched down along Interstate 4 in Lake Mary around 9:30 a.m.Just west, trees were down and damage was reported at Sweetwater Clubhouse tennis courts north of Wekiva Springs Road.Seminole County Fire Rescue confirmed it was helping with damage along the 2100 block of Blue Iris Place where a home had collapsed.
LAKE MARY, Fla. —Storms brought a slew of tornado warnings to the Orlando area on Monday morning.
A radar-confirmed tornado touched down along Interstate 4 in Lake Mary around 9:30 a.m.
Just west, trees were down and damage was reported at Sweetwater Clubhouse tennis courts north of Wekiva Springs Road.
Seminole County Fire Rescue confirmed it was helping with damage along the 2100 block of Blue Iris Place where a home had collapsed.
