Tornado Watch Issued for Portion of Florida's Panhandle, Big Bend

A line of thunderstorms moving through the Florida Panhandle early this morning intensified some, and has prompted the issuance of a Tornado Watch for the Big Bend and eastern Panhandle area until 1 PM. The Tallahassee metro area is included in this watch.

The storms are likely to be in the Tallahassee area between 9 and 11 AM before moving eastward into the Big Bend early this afternoon. A few of the storms within the line are capable of producing damaging, straight-line gusts and isolated tornadoes.

An official wind gust of 74 mph was recorded at the Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport in Panama City at 6 AM CT this morning as the storms rolled through.