Storms leave damage across Bay Area

The rain, wind and lightning roared through East Tampa Friday afternoon.

"I haven't seen a storm like this in years," said Elton James.  "It was very frightening!"

Neighbors say after a clap of lightning, a tree fell onto a house at 3709 East Hanna Street.

Neighbor Frank Reeves, 80, was glad to hear firefighters discovered the family who lives there wasn't  home at the time.

"Had it come this way, straight, it would have gotten me," Reeves said.

No injuries were reported across East Tampa, but there was other damage.

On Deleuil Avenue, Joycelyn Langston says this isn't the first time she has had to dry things out at her home. Floodwater covered her floor.

"The floorboards are coming off," she said. "The water is not going out the door, so I wonder where it is going? Is it soaking in through the floor or the walls?"

The Hillsborough County Anti-Drug Coalition on East Henry Street was also hit hard.  The building's roof is leaking.

"I haven't heard wind or hail like that before," said Cindy Grant, of the coalition. "We started hearing water dripping. Then it was water pouring. So we started running around like crazy trying to find buckets."

The overall feeling though, was that a tough storm is always easier to handle when there are no deaths or injuries.

"It was so blinding," said James. "I had to turn my head, it was dangerous. Very dangerous."

The family who lives at 3709 East Hanna is being helped by the Red Cross.

There was also a smattering of power outages in the same area.

Earlier, crews in Clearwater reported that lightning had struck a home on Farrier Trail, which is just east of Old Coachman Road. 

The home's chimney was damaged, but there were no reported injuries.