Tornado drops in Polk County

MARION COUNTY, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) - The Polk County Sheriff's Office said a tornado is responsible for damage at a resort near Haines City in the Marion Creek Road area. Eight units at the Grenelefe Resort reported roof damage. There are a total of 781 units on the property, a mixture of rental and vacation properties. here were 35-40 people evacuated from the affected units. Of those, approx half are requesting assistance from the American Red Cross.  No injuries were reported.

Elsewhere, heavy rain and flooding appeared to be the biggest threat.  In Marion County, the Ocala Police Department dealt with substantial flooding throughout various areas of the City.   Areas such as major intersections along Pine Avenue, stretches of roadway along East Silver Springs Boulevard, and much of the roadway areas along East Fort King Street experienced flooding.  Ocala Fire Rescue responded to numerous 911 calls, including a pick-up truck which was partially submerged in a retention area. The incident occurred at Northwest 4 Street and Martin Luther King Avenue.  The driver was not injured.

Brevard County saw heavy rain and flooding as well. Steady rain in Cocoa Beach led to ponding of water on the roads. Ocean Beach Blvd., which runs parallel to A1A, saw the most standing water with a few inches in spots.

Flooding remains a problem across metropolitan Orlando as well.  Several downtown thouroughfares were narrowed because of standing water by mid Thursday afternoon.  A number of residents reported flooding in many Orlando neighborhoods.   Due to weather conditions and other unforeseen circumstances, westbound lanes on SR 50 east of Hiawassee Road will be closed until Friday morning. Traffic will be shifted to the eastbound lanes. The shift will allow for a single lane each direction, according to the Florida Department of Transportation.

As draining of roadways continues, it is recommend that drivers slow down and watch for the areas of the roads that have high water, in order in order to avoid problems. 

Further up Interstate 4 in Seminole, people were reporting strong winds and pea to dime-size hail in Altamonte Springs.  There were no road closures reported. 

Officials said more rain and flooding is expected on Friday when a second line of storms is expected to pass across portions of Central Florida.

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FOX 35's Nick Fokianos, Trinnette Bowers and Stuart Campbell contributed to this report.