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Severe thunderstorms moving across Hillsborough and Pasco counties

 
Lightning flashes as storm clouds move toward Palm Harbor on Monday evening.
Lightning flashes as storm clouds move toward Palm Harbor on Monday evening.
Published July 12, 2016

Thousands of people in Hillsborough and Pasco counties lost power as a line of severe thunderstorms passed through Monday night, and a tornado touched down in Duette.

About 8 p.m., heavy storms were clustered in a roughly vertical line from Zephyrhills in the north to Manatee River in the south, according to 10Weather WTSP.

They were moving west at about 10 mph and were expected to move offshore between 11 p.m. and midnight, according to meteorologist Ashley Batey.

"The big thing is lightning," she said. "We're getting a lot of it, as well as small hail and damaging wind gusts."

The National Weather Service said to expect hail the size of quarters, torrential rainfall and flooding.

At 8:40 p.m., Tampa Electric reported nearly 7,000 customers without power, with the worst damage in east Hillsborough County.

Duke Energy reported about 420 customers without power at 8:40 p.m.

The NWS said the storms would impact drivers on the Courtney Campbell Causeway and the Howard Frankland and Gandy bridges.

A tornado touched down in Duette shortly before 7 p.m., Batey said.

"Flying debris will be dangerous to those caught without shelter," the NWS wrote in a bulletin. "Mobile homes will be damaged or destroyed. ... Take cover now!"

This story will be updated. Check back with tampabay.com for the latest.