T.S. Claudette surprises Florida but does little damage

Tropical storm Claudette took the Florida panhandle by surprise on Sunday, but luckily seems to have done very little damage. Claudette formed rapidly in the Gulf of Mexico Saturday night and spent Sunday whacking Franklin County with 40 to 50 mile an hour winds and some heavy rain before making landfall at about 1 in the morning near Fort Walton Beach. Franklin County’s emergency management office said the county fared pretty well through this storm. The major effect was a lot of blown down branches. There was only minor damage reported on a few homes on St. George Island as well as to the Apalachicola State bank building on the island and to the Texaco station in Eastpoint. There was also a large tree blown over in Apalachicola but it was cleaned up quickly. Emergency management officials said they were very pleased to see that Alligator Point Road weathered the storm well. There was just a little sand and debris on the road which was quickly removed. Alligator Point was put under a voluntary evacuation on Sunday – that was lifted on Monday morning. The state park on St. George Island also closed its campground on Sunday but reopened it Monday afternoon.