Last night, just after midnight Roy called me outside to look up at the sky... the lower clouds were virtually flashing across the sky....I hadn't seen them so fast since Hurricane Andrew... It was eerie... One second, the moon was obscured.. the next it was clear... I felt something big was up... it was eerie...
deexxoo
14 Dead As Storms Sweep Through Fla.
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Feb 2, 12:20 PM (ET)
By JIM ELLIS
By daybreak, parishioners gathered amid the ruins, hugging each other and consoling Lynn. They planned to clear the debris and hold Sunday services on the empty lot.
"Every muscle and bone in my body shook," said Lee Shaver, 54. "We don't know what to do. We have no cell phones, wallets, IDs."
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Email this StoryFeb 2, 12:20 PM (ET)
By JIM ELLIS
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LADY LAKE, Fla. (AP) - Storms blew through central Florida early Friday, killing at least 14 people, damaging hundreds of homes and a church and lifting a tractor trailer into the air, authorities said.
At least one tornado touched down and was believed to be the deadliest to hit Florida since 1998.
Dozens of mobile homes were destroyed near Lady Lake in Lake County, about 50 miles northwest of Orlando. Chairs, beds and clothes were strewn about yards, with debris hanging from trees. Some homes were tossed from their foundations, while others had their roofs ripped off.
The Lady Lake Church of God was demolished, its pews, altar and Bibles left in a jumbled mess. The 31-year-old, steel-reinforced structure was built to withstand 150-mph winds, the Rev. Larry Lynn said.
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"That's just the building. The people are the church. We'll be back bigger and stronger," Lynn said.
The storms moved across Sumter and Lake counties around 3:15 a.m., then to Volusia County, where 69 homes and a county medical clinic were damaged, authorities said.
"Our priority today is search and rescue," Gov. Charlie Crist told reporters in Tallahassee as he declared a state of emergency in four counties.
In The Villages, one of the nation's largest retirement communities, Lee Shaver said he shielded his wife Irene with his body while huddling in a closet as the roof peeled off their home. Fence posts launched as projectiles were embedded into the wall of their home, Irene Shaver said.
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Lake County spokesman Christopher Patton confirmed the 14 deaths, 11 in Paisley and three in Lady Lake. No further details were available.
The storms moved across the area about 3:15 a.m., the weather service said.
"The most dangerous tornado scenario is a threat for killer tornadoes at night, and that was the case," said Dave Sharp, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Melbourne.
At least five crashes took place within a quarter mile of each other near Interstate 4's New Smyrna Beach exit, closing the highway for about three hours.
In one case, a tractor-trailer was lifted up and landed on another semi, pinning the driver in his cab, said Kim Miller, a spokeswoman with the Florida Highway Patrol. The driver did not suffer life-threatening injuries, she said.
About 10,000 customers were without power across a wide swath of central Florida, Progress Energy spokeswoman Cherie Jacobs said.
The state Emergency Operations Center was activated, said Mike Stone, spokesman at the state's Department of Emergency Management. Several counties opened shelters for those who lost their homes.
In February 1998, five twisters hit near Orlando over two days, killing 42 people and damaging or destroying about 2,600 homes and businesses, according to the National Weather Service. It was Florida's deadliest spate of tornadoes.
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On the Net:
Florida Division of Emergency Management: http://www.floridadisaster.org/index.asp
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