Tornado Startles Gulfport Couple

Chris Nickerson and Kim Spadorcia had no warning when a waterspout-turned-tornado whipped past their home, at 5611 30th Ave S., in Gulfport, Florida,  Thursday morning.

The couple awoke up shortly before 10 a.m. Thursday. Because they are remodeling the home, they don't have a working television and did not check online either. They had no warning.

Kim Spadorcia said it sounded like a "freight train and a truck all in the same sound."

She had walked over to the blinds, saw the tornado and yelled for Chris Nickerson.

"I could see it on the corner of the street, a tornado," Nickerson said.

Nickerson said it was about 50 feet away from their home. "We literally saw it spinning outside the window."

Spadorcia ran into the bathroom for cover and Nickerson backed into the hallway.

Within seconds, it passed.

Once the tornado moved on, the couple headed outside to see the damage. Their flagpole was completely bent and their lawn furniture landed next door.

They also spotted part of a shed roof in a tree, windows blown out and fences torn apart. Debris covered their alley.

The couple says this is the worst damage they've ever seen. They've lived here for about two years but are originally from Boston.

(Watch our video to hear more from Nickerson and Spadorcia.)

According to the city, the waterspout touched down around 10 a.m. on Shore Blvd. and moved north on Beach Blvd. passing the Gulfport Public Library, Gulfport Senior Center, Catherine Hickman Theater and Clymer Park.

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