High winds from possible tornado or waterspout causes damage to Cape Coral

CAPE CORAL — Heavy winds caused damage to several homes and other structures in Cape Coral this evening, possibly the result of a tornado or waterspout, City Spokeswoman Connie Barron said.

"We had a report that possibly a tornado or a funnel cloud may have touched down in the southeast part of the city," Barron said. "It appears at least at this time that it was a pretty serious waterspout that went through the area at a six or seven minute time interval."

Barron said calls started coming in at 6:28 p.m. and by 6:38 p.m. callers were describing the end of a weak waterspout.

"They could still see the waterspout rotating, but not the funnel associated with it," Barron said.

As of 8 p.m., LCEC was also reporting power outages in central Cape Coral on their website.

A traffic signal at major intersection, Diplomat Parkway and Del Prado Boulevard, was out, Barron said, and construction cones in the area had been blown around causing drivers to enter the wrong lanes.

The wind caused damage to screens of a home in the 1700 block of Southeast 40th Street, tore shingles and plywood from a home in the 900 block of Southeast 40th Street, downed some trees and blew other debris and put down a power line, Barron said.

Barron said city officials were working to fix any damage and that firefighters had helped protect the home that shingles blown off from any additional wind damage.

Preseason football games throughout Southwest Florida were also delayed because of the inclement weather. In Naples, the start of the Naples High vs. Hialeah game was pushed back to at least 8:25 p.m. because of lighting. The much-anticipated game between Barron Collier and South Fort Myers, a rematch from last fall's postseason, has been postponed until Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at Barron Collier in Naples. More prep football updates here.