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Tyndall Air Force Base hit by tornado

Tyndall Air Force Base, a key military base on Florida's panhandle, was hit by a tornado Saturday night — just three months after the base was devastated by Hurricane Michael.
 
TAILYR IRVINE   |   Times
Piles of debris fill a patch of land at the Tyndall Air Force Base that used to be a park for the residents on Friday, January 11, 2019 in the Florida Panhandle. Crews are still working to clear debris and repair damaged buildings nearly three months after Hurricane Michael devastated the area
TAILYR IRVINE | Times Piles of debris fill a patch of land at the Tyndall Air Force Base that used to be a park for the residents on Friday, January 11, 2019 in the Florida Panhandle. Crews are still working to clear debris and repair damaged buildings nearly three months after Hurricane Michael devastated the area
Published Jan. 20, 2019

First a hurricane, now a tornado.

Tyndall Air Force Base, a key military base on Florida's panhandle, was hit by a tornado Saturday night — just three months after the base was devastated by Hurricane Michael.

According to a post on the base's Facebook page, the tornado touched down around 6:30 p.m. Saturday evening. It damaged buildings and vehicles, but no people were hurt, the post said.

Tyndall is a key facility for both the military and the local economy. Its proximity to the Gulf of Mexico gives pilots hundreds of thousands of square miles of nearby training airspace, and the base contributes billions to the Bay County economy annually.

Whatever damage the Tyndall suffered in the tornado will likely complicate to the costly recovery effort already underway at the base. Earlier this week, the Tampa Bay Times' Howard Altman chronicled that effort:

"Signs of devastation are everywhere at Tyndall Air Force Base — buildings destroyed, debris piled in hills at a park, airmen sleeping in rows of tan tents dubbed 'TY-raq,'" Altman wrote.

Read that full story here.

Times staff writer Howard Altman contributed to this report.

Contact Kirby Wilson at kwilson@tampabay.com or 727-893-8793. Follow @kirbywtweets.