Jackie Guenther
•6/29/2026
Debris still lies scattered across the Tamiami Villages community off US-41 in North Fort Myers after an EF0 tornado touched down.
At approximately 5:14 p.m. Sunday, the National Weather Service confirmed that the tornado touched down briefly in the neighborhood. North Fort Myers Fire Control District confirmed that the 65-mph winds caused damage to four mobile homes. Two homes had severe roof damage, and two received minor damage from flying debris.
Neighbors tell us their power was out for hours. Crews had to remove a massive pile of debris from one of the homes left in the middle of Venus Avenue to repair the power lines. They also told us that the people who live in these homes are seasonal visitors and were not home at the time.
Steven Orthodox, who also lives on the street, said his wife was injured trying to get back into their home. He says he was in a panic, "I saw the roof lifting, and we were trying to get back in the house. And my wife got caught coming back in. She's got a fractured foot now, and her arms all cut up. The wind caught the door, and her foot got caught in it."
Robbie Hanson, who lives a couple doors down, does not understand why there was not a severe weather warning, "My concern is they have radar, and it's like you had it on radar. You're showing you had it on radar, and you issued no severe weather warning at all to us."
Both Orthodox and Hanson say they are thankful their homes did not face any damage from the storms.
You can count on Gulf Coast News to keep you updated as we learn more.