Condo bears brunt of Siesta tornado

It sounded like a bomb. 

That's how residents of the Excelsior Beach to Bay condominium described the sound of the tornado that passed through the Siesta Key property at approximately 3:15 a.m. Sunday. 

"I woke up to a noise I've never heard before," said Nelly Vazquez, who has lived in the condominium at 6263 Midnight Pass Road for 30 years. "They say it sounds like a train, but I heard a big boom."

Vazquez was one of many residents forced to evacuate her unit after the storm, after water pipes burst, filling her home with 6-8 inches of water. 

The tornado came out of the Gulf, hitting the Excelsior condominiums on the Gulf before crossing Midnight Pass Road and then damaging the development's bayside condos as well. According to authorities on the scene, the condominium sustained the majority of the damage on the key, although some roads remained flooded and filled with smaller debris as late as noon on Sunday.

Authorities have not reported any injuries from the storm on Siesta Key, but two were killed in Manatee County as the storm moved inland. Heavy damage was also reported on Baywinds Lane, across the bay just northwest from the Excelsior, marking the tornado's path.

At the Excelsior, residents awoke to shattered windows in their homes, broken screens, snapped palm trees and scraps of metal the size of a truck littering the parking lot and the rest of the property. On the bay side, the roof of building five, the Majorca, was ripped off and residents were gathering belongings. The building has been deemed inhabitable by authorities, who have been on the scene since about 3:30 a.m.

Other damage included railings torn off balconies, fallen trees, missing carports, displaced patio furniture and the pergola and fence surrounding the swimming pool were downed and destroyed. Tree branches sat in the water of the pool. 

"It's bad. It's bad," said Rick Mathias, who manages several of the units for owners at the Excelsior. "There are inches of water in the units, broken windows ... it's just a mess."

Several residents marveled at how the storm seemed to only damage some areas, leaving others untouched. 

Dr. Marc Blum, who bought his bayside Excelsior unit with his wife, Kathy, in 2003, said he heard what sounded like a freight train and heard a big crash as he watch their furniture move from the south side to the north side of their lanai. The couple took shelter with their cats and their unit was unharmed, but he said their next-door neighbors weren't as lucky. It appears their ceilings have caved in and the roof has been lifted from the walls. Luckily, they weren't home. 

"Other than the furniture, all of our things were fine," Blum said. "But mere feet away, there was serious damage."

Denis and Micheline Belisle, who are first-time visitors to Siesta Key from Montreal, were staying on the north side of the bayside Excelsior property. They said they heard the storm during the night, but they were surprised to see all the damage in the morning. The back window of their car was shattered by debris. 

"I heard noise and the wind blowing hard, but I just thought it was a bad storm," Denis Belisle said. 

Rick Schreiber, who is visiting with his family from Orlando, also awoke to find his minivan's rear windows shattered and his children's car seats full of glass. He is staying with his in-laws on the Gulf side of the Excelsior.

"It sounded like an explosion," Schreiber said. He said the buildings' fire alarms started going off and described the feeling as "chaotic." 

The entire railing on his balcony was bent down, but he said they were lucky — the worst was just leaking water. "Two units down, it looks like a war zone," he said. 

Toys and shoes the family sat outside their front door the night before were gone, but he found them scattered around the parking lot this morning, to his surprise. "All we're missing is a right-foot sandal," he said. Despite the commotion and noise, his 4-year-old daughter slept through the entire thing. 

Polynesian Gardens, just south of Excelsior Gulf to Bay, also sustained damage to cars and its carports from blown debris and metal scraps.

Patty Michel, who lives at Crescent Arms down the road and went to Excelsior to check on a unit for a friend, said she also heard the storm and took shelter in her kitchenette. She said one tornado seemed to come through at around 3:15 a.m., and then a second, weaker tornado seemed to come through a half hour later. 

She said in her condominium, a carport is missing and several cars were damaged. 

Blum said the worst of the storm passed through quickly, although the rain and wind continued for much of the night. This morning high winds continued to blow debris around the site, as residents salvaged belongings and took pictures of the damage. 

"What a frightening experience," he said. 

For the visiting Beliles though, they seemed to take the event — and the damage to their vehicle — in stride. No one was hurt, and it made for an exciting visit. "It will give us something to talk about back home," Denis Belisle said.