National Weather Service confirms EF-O tornado in western Clay County

Jacksonville, FL — The National Weather Service has confirmed an EF-0 tornado touched down in Lake Geneva in Clay County on Wednesday afternoon during bands from Hurricane Michael.

Clay County Emergency Manager John Ward said they sent people to investigate reports of two different possible tornadoes around Keystone Heights and south of Camp Blanding, but they did not find any damage and they have not received any damage reports.

We spoke to John Blaise who says he was driving from Orlando to Fernandina Beach when he saw rotation in the clouds that lasted about a minute.

“The rotation was obvious,” Blaise says. “You could definitely see it in the clouds. I didn’t see any debris in the clouds so I didn’t assume it was on the ground at that time. But it was out in an area where it appeared it was not a residential area.”

He says he felt safe because the storm appeared to be moving north of where he was, and there were utility trucks near him driving toward Georgia.

“Based on my experience and the fact that these guys were still moving forward, they wouldn’t do it if we were in any danger,” Blaise says.