MANATEE COUNTY — Jocelyn Geraldson informed customers of Geraldson’s Farm Market on 9th Avenue Northwest in Bradenton on Facebook that the farm would be closed until Tropical Storm Emily, which had formed early Monday morning, passed. She figured it might reopen later in the day.
She was at her home just a mile away when she received a tornado warning alert. She said at first, she couldn’t reach her parents by phone.
“It was definitely a little scary. I finally called my dad and he was sitting in his car in the parking lot of our farm watching it all happen,” said Jocelyn Geraldson.
Arlene Geraldson responded to her daughter with a broken text message.
“I think she got spell-checked a few times,” Jocelyn Geraldson said of her mother’s text message that said “the barn is gone.” Arlene Geraldson had left the barn minutes before the storm struck and gone to a house on the property. The upper level of the barn house, where she had left her cat and dog, fell in. Both pets were uninjured.
Jocelyn Geraldson said neither of her parents were injured.
The tornado that spun up from Tropical Storm Emily caused $96,000 in damage in Manatee County. The National Weather Service said the EF-0 tornado had peak winds of 80 mph and left a swath of damage 100 yards wide over 1.3 miles, including significant damage to the farmer’s market.
Emily made landfall at Anna Maria Island at around 10:45 a.m. and approximately 10 minutes later, a tornado warning was issued. The high winds from the tropical storm and the twister toppled trees, destroyed two barns, greenhouses and a wall in the vicinity of 99th Ave. NW and 9th Ave. NW in western Manatee County.
A tree in the back yard missed the Geraldson’s house. “It was kind of helter skelter,” said Jocelyn Geraldson of the property her family has owned since the 1950s. Her grandfather purchased it for use as a wholesale market.
Greg Geraldson later turned it into a retail market that is open five or six days a week, depending on the time of year. The summer is the slow season, but they sell okra, black-eyed peas, fresh fruit and vegetables, including some brought from Georgia and North Carolina. They switch to their own produce in the fall, which consists of their popular tomatoes, lettuce, peppers, broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, and kale.
The damage from Emily was a surprise.
“I definitely didn’t see that one coming. I coach at Manatee High School and we were doing conditioning,” Jocelyn Geraldson said. “I saw all the rain, and I saw everything happening. We made the call to close the farm, but I had even posted on our Facebook, “stay tuned we might re-open if it dries out.” It was very odd when I was at home; I live right down the street, and got the tornado warning.”
After posting pictures of the damage caused by the sudden storm, which she described as a scene out of the 1996 movie “Twister,” the community outpouring was stunning.
“We just had one of our customers and family friends bring us dinner,” Jocelyn Geraldson said. “That’s how they wanted to help out.
“We have the best customers, put it that way for sure, and the best neighbors.”
Two coolers in the prep area of the farmers market were damaged, but a restaurant that buys produce from the Geraldsons offered to let them use one of theirs for temporary storage.
“We were able to bring stuff over,” Jocelyn Geraldson said, “so Sea Smoke Smokehouse, thank you!”
The family spent Tuesday afternoon cleaning up branches and debris, and they had two large signs that said “Sorry, we’re closed” at the end of the driveway. They greeted customers they saw stop to let them know they should be open by Thursday or Friday.
“The wind and the rain moved everything,” said Jocelyn Geraldson.
Manatee County damage
Two structures received significant roof damage at the Trailer Estate Park and Rec mobile home park, 6814 Canada Blvd. in Bradenton.
Gil Young, the deputy chief of the trailer park, said that other homes had awnings knocked down and a few trees were blown over at the park.
Trailer Estate Park and Rec resident Shirley Dillow told SNN-TV that she heard two distinct bands of wind that sounded like a train before the damage to her neighbor’s home occurred.
“It done it twice and then I heard things hitting my house,” she said. “I come out to look and their roof come off over there. It was hitting places on my house and across the street — a whole lot of insulation and everything in the backyard that’s going to be cleaned up now.”
Dillow said she called 911 and the fire department and Manatee County Sheriff’s Office responded. She said they cut off some pieces of other homes that had hooked onto her mobile home.
Manatee County experienced localized flooding in low-lying areas, downed trees, branches and temporary power outages, according to Manatee County spokesman Nick Azzara. He said the the flooding was typical anytime a strong storm strikes.
Avesta Oak Meade Apartments, which had rooftops under construction before the storm, were badly damaged causing 12 people to find temporary shelter. Palma Sola Botanical Gardens, 9800 17th Ave. NW, Bradenton, north of Geraldson’s Farmer’s Market, had damage to its greenhouse.
“This storm was another reminder that strong storms can strike and do damage with very little warning,” Azzara said. “Hopefully Tropical Storm Emily will serve as a reminder to Manatee families and business owners that the time to prepare for severe weather is now.”
by Carlos R. Munoz
August 1, 2017
