HOLT, Fla., June 16, 2023—The storm that blew through the area this morning left some reminders behind.

According to the National Weather Service in Mobile, wind gusts associated with the storm were blowing upwards of 70-75 mph.

Besides blowing over trash bins, opening mail box doors and leaving tree branches strewn about, the storm knocked down three tree limbs across U.S. Highway 90 east of Galliver Cutoff partially blocking the roadway.

Holt Fire District, with help from Baker Fire District, quickly cleared the obstructions.

The Holt Water Works office on Johnson Street barely missed damage as a large limb from the oak tree in front fell across the parking lot. The office is closed on Fridays, so no vehicles were present at the time.

There appears to be little damage to the buildings except for some flashing on the garage that was torn off by the fallen limb.

Just north of the water office on John Road, on a large limb fell on a homeowner’s power line, knocking out power.

The homeowner reported an odor of smoke and burning plastic, according to Holt Firefighter Justin Barrow.

And on Southside Drive, Holt Fire reported to another tree limb on a power line which knocked out power to a small area.

Both outages have been reported to CHELCO.

During a storm a couple of days ago, the oak tree behind the Holt Community Food Pantry on Southside Drive lost a limb, missing the pantry, but landing on the fence that partially surrounds the back yard.

More to come

Several more rounds of severe storms are possible tonight and tomorrow, according to the NWS, with the first round occurring this afternoon/evening into the early morning hours tomorrow.

A second round is likely tomorrow morning through the afternoon. Damaging wind, large hail and flooding rainfall will continue to be the primary threat, according to the NWS.

The Mobile forecast area has been under a weather pattern that has produced severe thunderstorms for five consecutive days.

Stephanie Holcombe