Residents left wondering, What’s next after EF-1 tornado and hail storm

PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WJHG/WECP) - The torrential storm that hit Bay County left severe damage for homeowners, but even more damage to their pockets.

Lynn Haven resident, Sarah Marler said after an eerie silence, she heard what she thought was hail.

It was then quickly confirmed when her husband opened the back door.

“He looked out the back door and there was golf ball size hail falling,” Marler said, adding the repair costs for their two vehicles could be thousands of dollars.

“It’s probably going to be over ten thousand dollars in damages, to the car. This was definitely not an expense that we were expecting.”

What started out as a hailstorm, quickly spiraled down a much more dangerous road. The confirmed category EF-1 tornado touched down in a neighborhood park.

Some of the worst damage was in the three hundred to seven-hundred block of Montana Avenue. Many people were left with cracked windows, missing shingles, and dents on their cars.

Now residents will potentially have to pay hefty repair fees.

Lynn Haven Mayor, Jesse Nelson, said cleanup has been a community effort.

“We put all hands on deck here to try to help alleviate as much of the damage as possible,” he said. “So, we had our fire, and police here on yesterday.”

Although residents now have to repair and replace property, they’re thankful it wasn’t worse.

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