Tornado hits Duette; National Weather Service predicts nothing else imminent for Manatee-Sarasota counties
MANATEE -- Though a tornado was confirmed to have touched down in Duette on Wednesday, it left no damage and the National Weather Service says there is nothing else imminent through the rest of this week.
Bay News 9 meteorologist Brian McClure confirmed that a tornado had touched down in the northeast side of Duette.
"There was no damage because it was just in an open field," he said, adding that there were two confirmed reports of the tornado.
A tornado watch issued earlier by the National Weather Service Wednesday morning for Manatee, Sarasota, Pinellas and Hillsborough counties was lifted after 10 a.m. McClure said the warning came out after the tornado watch, when the actual storm cell down descended onto the area of Duette.
"There's a cold front that's moving across our area right now, which will be exiting the area by this evening," said Eric Oglesby, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. "We'll have high pressure building over the southeast U.S. and Florida for the remainder of the week and into the weekend. Skies will be mostly sunny each day."
According to Oglesby, temperatures overnight Wednesday were expected to dip into the 50s.
"We'll have decreasing cloudiness overnight and then we'll have mostly clear skies Thursday right through the weekend," he said.
High temperatures will be in the mid -0s on both Thursday and Friday afternoons.
"Friday night will be a little bit cooler. We're looking at lows in the upper 30s," Oglesby and. "And then Saturday afternoon, again still high in the mid-60s, and Saturday night in the lower 40s and then a bit warmer on Sunday -- sunny skies and high in the lower 70s."
There is a high surf advisory until 7 p.m. Thursday for the area.
"For the rest of the day through tomorrow, there's still going to be a high risk of rip currents at area beaches," Oglesby said, adding that the high surf advisory has been ongoing since Tuesday night.
According to the meteorologist, it's best for beachgoers to swim in beaches that have lifeguards.
"If not, make sure to be cautious and safe when entering the water and if you do get caught in a rip current, then try not to panic and swim parallel to the coast to get out of it," he said. "The key is not to panic."
Oglesby added that there's no expectation of rain for the rest of the week.
"The next cold front that could approach our area won't be until the middle to late next week," he said. "We're going to have a little bit of an extended dry period here."
Amaris Castillo, law enforcement/island reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7051. Follow her on Twitter@AmarisCastillo.
This story was originally published February 24, 2016 at 6:12 PM with the headline "Tornado hits Duette; National Weather Service predicts nothing else imminent for Manatee-Sarasota counties ."