EF-0 tornado hits Melbourne neighborhood, damaging roofs and downing trees

J.D. Gallop, Florida Today
Updated ·2 min read

Neighbors collected debris and covered damaged rooftops in Melbourne as National Weather Service officials confirmed that a small tornado touched down in a residential neighborhood off Sarno Road Thursday.

No injuries were reported, police said. Weather officials later rated the tornado as an EF-0, the least powerful tornado with wind speeds of up to 75 mph.

"It was definitely some type of wind event," said Robert Haley, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Melbourne, hours before the determination. The weather service sent observers to the site, where just before 6 p.m. Wednesday a small, 100-foot wide funnel cloud descended on the Presidential neighborhood off of Sarno and Aurora roads.

“Fortunately no one was injured near the area of Sarno Road when a tornado impacted several streets and damaged numerous homes,” Melbourne Mayor Paul Alfrey said in a statement posted on Facebook.

Rooftops were ripped away from several homes and several other residences were damaged, according to the Melbourne Police Department.

"There was significant damage to a handful of homes, minor damage to others," said Sgt. Garry Hibbs of the police department.

Damage to a home on Washington Avenue in Melbourne caused by a small tornado Thursday.
Damage to a home on Washington Avenue in Melbourne caused by a small tornado Thursday.

Brevard County's emergency management crew was also on site inspecting the damaged homes. Several photos of the funnel cloud were posted to social media along with videos.

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"We got there right after (the funnel cloud) had left," said Melbourne City Councilwoman Racheal Bassett. Bassett snapped several photos of the damage. "I'm going to wait for the officials to do their job but the bulk of it hit the homes off of Sarno."

The incident happened as a storm cell passed across the Space Coast, part of the ongoing afternoon pattern of storms that impact the area during the early summer.

Weather officials confirmed a small tornado struck a Melbourne neighborhood Thursday.
Weather officials confirmed a small tornado struck a Melbourne neighborhood Thursday.

J.D. Gallop is a criminal justice/breaking news reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Gallop at 321-917-4641 or jgallop@floridatoday.com. Or X, formerly known as Twitter: @JDGallop.

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Melbourne tornado hits neighborhood, damaging homes