Two people have drowned in Florida amid days of heavy rain, damaging winds and “extremely rough” ocean conditions, according to local officials.
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Heavy downpours could be seen along central Florida and its Gulf Coast on Saturday, including in Tampa and Largo. Video from Clearwater showed choppy waters as storms passed through the area.
In Cocoa Beach, local law enforcement responded to Lori Wilson Park on Saturday after a report of a 12-year-old and a 17-year-old in distress in the water, according to the Cocoa Beach Police Department.
The 12-year-old was brought to shore safely, but the 17-year-old was found unresponsive and was later pronounced dead at a local hospital.
While officials did not confirm that the death was weather-related, Brevard County Beach Rescue spokesperson Don Walker said the “seas were extremely rough” Saturday.
In another incident on Friday evening, a 32-year-old woman drowned in Daytona Beach after she was caught in a rip current north of Main Street Pier, according to Volusia County Beach Safety. She was found unresponsive in the ocean about 100 meters from shore before she was taken to a local hospital and pronounced dead.
On Saturday, a broken line of showers and thunderstorms stretched from the Gulf through the Carolinas. A tornado watch was in effect for parts of central Florida — including the Daytona, Gainesville and Tampa areas — until Saturday evening, with the strongest storms anticipated over Florida, where damaging winds and isolated tornadoes were possible.
No tornadoes were reported, and the severe threat in the state has since ended. Four damaging wind reports were submitted, including gusts of 60 mph and minor tree damage. Spotty showers lingered over Florida and the Carolinas in the hours after the severe weather risk passed.
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