Confirmed EF 1 Tornado in South Walton County, Sandestin Neighborhood WALTON COUNTY, FL - National weather Service (NWS) Tallahassee conducted a tornado damage assessment in the affected areas of south Walton County on Tuesday, June 20, where they confirmed Monday's severe weather system as an EF I tornado with maximum wind speeds of approximately 105 MPH. According to NWS, the tomado formed over the Choctawhatchee Bay and made landfall in the Sandestin neighborhood at approximately 11:16am. Moving in a west to east trajectory, the path was approximately 1.65 miles in length, with a maximum width of 200 yards. The highest concentration of damage occurred along the Laurel Way and Raven's Run in the Laurel Grove neighborhood of Sandestin. The tomado continued to move east before lifting east of Mack Bayou Drive. On Monday, June 19th, South Walton Fire District (SWFD) and Walton County Sheriff's Office (WCSO) responded to reports of the tomado and conducted welfare checks throughout the area. Walton County Emergency Management (WCEM) conducted preliminary damage assessments and surveyed for potential unmet needs in the Sandestin and Mack Bayou neighborhoods. Combined data from WCEM, NWS Tallahassee, and the Residential Self- Reporting tool estimated a total of five impacted homes with minor damage. Numerous properties received damage, including broken fences, heavy vegetation, and widespread debris. "We are grateful to report minimal damage and no injuries from this event," said WCEM Director, Jeff Goldberg. "With severe weather continuing to impact our region throughout this week, we strongly encourage our residents and visitors to remain weather aware and sign up for AlertWalton at alertwalton.org.' Residents impacted by the Sandestin Tomado are encouraged to complete the Walton County Emergency Management Damage Reporting Survey to help determine the scope of the storm's impacts and address any unmet needs. Survey can be found here: [URL]https://bit.ly/3kyKRZn[/URL]. For questions, please contact [email]wcem@waltoncountyem.org[/email] When disaster strikß, Walton Emergency Management is here to serve the businesß. and visitors of Walton County. Our mission is to prevent. mitigate. prepare. recover from all hazards, emergerrles. and disasters using a whole community approach.
