That was close :-/

[Chrisgoesflying]

As usual, we came down to Florida for part of the winter, Canada just being way too cold this time of the year. However, this morning, the area we're staying at got hit by a pretty nasty tornado. The house we're renting was spared luckily, but many others around us unfortunately can't say the same. This was my third tornado warning I went through and certainly the closest direct hit. The previous two missed me by several miles, this one however missed me and my family by a few feet. On the bright side, the FBO was great. I called them yesterday afternoon to see if they had some hangar space to keep the plane safe during the storms. At first, they had no space left so I started calling local mechanics and people to no avail. Before nightfall, they called me back saying they could make some space and pulled the plane into their hangar before the storms rolled in. This afternoon, they called back to let me know that there was no damage to their building or my plane and they'll just wait for the wind to die down before tying the plane down on the ramp again.

 

[Morgan3820]

Wow !

 

[Half Fast]

Wow! Where?

 

[Half Fast]

BTW, Chris....

Please share these pics with your northern friends and neighbors. In Florida, the hurricanes and tornadoes will destroy their homes, the gators will eat their pets, and the mosquitoes will kill them and their children. They do NOT want to move to Florida!

Besides, it's already too crowded.

 

[dbahn]

Besides, it's already too crowded.

That's why nobody lives there anymore.

 

[Chrisgoesflying]

Wow! Where?

Panama City Beach.

Besides, it's already too crowded.

It's not very crowded here, at least not in the winter. That's why we come here instead of the more popular parts further south. Temperature in the winter is perfectly fine for us. We don't need 80s. Winter in the low 60s with the occasional day in the 70s or 50s works for me. Most of the time when we go to the beach, we're almost the only people walking there. I heard it's a different story from Spring Break onwards but we always get out of here before the crowds arrive.

 

[Half Fast]

Panama City Beach.

It's not very crowded here, at least not in the winter. That's why we come here instead of the more popular parts further south. Temperature in the winter is perfectly fine for us. We don't need 80s. Winter in the low 60s with the occasional day in the 70s or 50s works for me. Most of the time when we go to the beach, we're almost the only people walking there. I heard it's a different story from Spring Break onwards but we always get out of here before the crowds arrive.

Yeah, that place will be swarming during spring break, but it’s nice this time of year (except for tornadoes). I prefer the Gulf beaches, especially Destin. The Atlantic has better diving, though.

Glad it missed you. The pictures look pretty bad.

 

[Chrisgoesflying]

Yeah, that place will be swarming during spring break, but it’s nice this time of year (except for tornadoes). I prefer the Gulf beaches, especially Destin. The Atlantic has better diving, though.

Glad it missed you. The pictures look pretty bad.

Destin is nice. Panama City Beach is pretty much the same - it's also on the Gulf so same type of beach, just an hour east of Destin. My go-to place is 30a, basically the stretch between Destin and Panama City Beach but accommodation right there is way too expensive. I don't think tornadoes are much of a thing here this time of the year. We've been here for four winters now and this is the first time we've seen anything like this. The locals I spoke to also said that this is more of a fall or spring type of event but unheard of in January, especially the intensity of the storms. The news channel I was watching while hunkering down in the bathroom said something along the lines of the cell extended to 40,000 ft. which is not normal for a winter t-storm in this part of the country.

 

[SkyChaser]

Glad you're safe. Those pictures do not look pretty.

 

[iamtheari]

I've seen a lot of houses destroyed by tornadoes and a lot of trailers (camper trailers as well as mobile homes) tipped over by them. But that one picture is the first time I've seen a house tipped over.

What airport/FBO are you tied down at? It sounds like the FBO went above and beyond in this instance.

 

[Chrisgoesflying]

I've seen a lot of houses destroyed by tornadoes and a lot of trailers (camper trailers as well as mobile homes) tipped over by them. But that one picture is the first time I've seen a house tipped over.

What airport/FBO are you tied down at? It sounds like the FBO went above and beyond in this instance.

Sheltair at ECP. We left by now and they ended up not even charging me for the night in the hangar.