Weather officials say EF1 tornado damaged Central Florida homes

The National Weather Service confirmed Tuesday that an EF1 tornado touched down in Marion County, toppling several trees and damaging dozens of homes.

Strong storms ripped through Central Florida on Monday, causing serious damage to about 60 homes in the Oak Run and Palm Cay subdivisions in Ocala.  Weather officials said winds reached up to 90 mph during the storm.

NWS meteorologist Peter Wolf said visible "twisting in trees and damage pointed toward a center of rotation."

"This one is very clear that the damage is circular and convergent.  (It) definitely was a brief tornado," Wolf said.  "We've also had one person who said they saw the rotating cloud coming across the area as well, so that helps to confirm it as well."

Wolf said conditions were not favorable for a tornado, but he said thunderstorms can sometimes locally change the environment.

"I think that's what happened here.  It was a very brief spin-up that occurred, and it weakened as fast as it developed," Wolf said.

Cleanup efforts in the neighborhoods began Monday night and continued Tuesday.