It’s a stormy mess: crushed homes, toppled crane, tornado and a miserable morning drive

A tornado in the Tampa Bay area. A downed crane toppled onto Interstate 275 in St. Pete. Downed trees, torn roofs and thousands without power in Pinellas County. And, with wet, gusty storms lashing South Florida roads, visibility is seriously compromised during the morning commute.

And we’re not quite done.

The storms are a part of a cold front that moved across the state starting on Thursday afternoon, dragging an ocean of moisture. As the low pressure dipped, up went the wind’s strength, explained Paxton Fell, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

Florida faces a ‘bumpy night’ as wind advisories and severe thunderstorm warnings go up

She wasn’t kidding.

As cars limp through clogged roadways in South Florida, the weather service in Miami posted an alert an isolated tornado is still possible into the morning hours, mainly in Palm Beach County northern Broward.

“The strongest thunderstorms across the eastern half of South Florida could have wind gusts up to 60 mph this morning,” the weather service said.

The roads aren’t pretty. A tractor-trailer jackknifed along eastbound I-395 at I-95, blocking all lanes at 8 a.m., according to WSVN.

Traffic heading to Biscayne Boulevard or Miami Beach or to take the I-95 North exit on that stretch of I-395 is backed up. The Florida Highway Patrol advises drivers avoid the area and seek alternate routes.

Heavy downpours were reported in Miami Gardens near the Hard Rock Stadium, Aventura, much of Broward County, also Doral and Key West, CBS4 meteorologist Lissette Gonzalez said.

The west coast of Florida weathered the brunt of the overnight storms.

Pasco County fire-rescue crews had to use airbags to lift a large oak tree and push a roof upward to free a woman who was trapped inside her mobile home on Thursday afternoon, The Tampa Bay Times reported. The oak tree crushed her home like a discarded beer can.

“She was directly under the tree and was bent over by the waist. A dog was also rescued from the home,” Pasco County Fire Rescue said on its Facebook page.

The woman was hospitalized with serious injuries.

Seven people were trapped inside a home in Seminole because of a fallen tree, Pinellas rescue crews said.

The Sunshine Skyway Bridge in Tampa Bay, closed Thursday afternoon when winds hit 40 mph, has been reopened to traffic, the Bradenton Herald reported. But the Florida Department of Transportation still advises motorists to drive with caution because the wind is still whipping Friday morning.

A toppled construction crane in St. Petersburg blocked northbound traffic on I-275 Thursday night but no one was injured, the Tampa Bay Times reported. Florida Department of Transportation crews removed the crane boom from the roadway after midnight.

The messy weather will start to clear later Friday morning into the afternoon, CBS4’s Gonzalez said.

Spotty showers are still possible in the afternoon and some of that moisture could lift back up and bring some rain to South Florida Saturday morning.

Temperatures will also fall to a 74 degrees high on Friday afternoon and a low of 56 at night, CBS4 reported.

Parts of Florida already have cooled down — 47 degrees in Tallahassee and 38 degrees in Pensacola.

As dry air moves through the state later Friday and Saturday, in South Florida rain chances are minimal through mid-week. The next best chance for rain is 20% around 1 a.m. Saturday into Sunday afternoon.

Otherwise, temperatures should run in the high to low-70s through Wednesday, according to the weather service.

Orlando, too, should see similar clearing through Wednesday but cooler lows on Friday night — 47 degrees — as highs nudge up to the 70s and low-80s by Wednesday.