Residents are cleaning up the damage and debris left behind by a tornado that passed through several communities in the northern part of Palm Beach County over the weekend. The powerful storm system overturned cars and boats, damaged homes and uprooted large trees.
The National Weather Service confirmed that the category EF-2 tornado — with maximum winds of 130 miles per hour — touched down in the City of Palm Beach Gardens just after 5 p.m. on Saturday. The storm did most of its structural damage in the Sanctuary Cove neighborhood.
Images from the community showed cars flipped over on top of each other, shattered windows and cracked tree limbs resting on vehicles and homes. Debris littered the streets. The roof of one apartment building was partially gone.
One surprised neighbor told WLRN the tornado was "unnerving."
The National Weather Service said that the tornado began east of I-95, moved northeast across A1A and passed south of Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center. The strong storm turned more north-northeasterly after wreaking havoc through Sanctuary Cove and crossing PGA Boulevard near the intersection with U.S. 1.
“After a short trek up U.S. 1, the tornado dissipated before reaching Juno Beach,” NWS said.
PGA Blvd. and U.S. 1 east of the intracoastal waterway remained closed Monday due to storm damage. The city engineer and other building officials in Palm Beach Gardens are still assessing structural damage throughout the affected areas, according to city police.
To date, the Palm Beach Gardens Police Department are monitoring several intersections without power and have cleared several major roadways including A1A and Burns Road. The Palm Beach Gardens Police Department has not reported any major injuries or fatalities.
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The strike came just months after Hurricane Ian triggered another EF2 tornado in Palm Beach, this one reaching 125 mph and damaging several apartment buildings in Kings Point. It blew off roofs from top-floor apartments in the neighborhood west of Delray Beach, with 30 people evacuated and two transported to a local hospital — including a person trapped in a bathroom after a roof collapsed.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
