INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — No injuries were reported after heavy winds from thunderstorms knocked down trees in Fellsmere and Vero Beach, causing roadways to be blocked, authorities said.
A large tree in Fellsmere toppled about 3 p.m. in the 50 block of North Bay Street, north of County Road 512, Police Chief Keith Touchberry said. The tree was 8-to-10 inches in diameter and at least 25 feet high.
Fellsmere’s public works department removed the tree by 3:30 p.m. Vero Beach also had a tree fall onto the roadway at 16th Street, west of 20th Avenue, spokesman Master Officer Darrell Rivers said.
The small tree was blocking the eastbound lane of 16th Street, Rivers said. Police asked motorists to take alternative routes.
Vero Beach’s public works department was expected to remove the tree soon.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY FELLSMERE POLICE DEPARTMENT
The thunderstorms also caused light flooding near North Cypress Street and South Carolina Avenue in Fellsmere, Touchberry said. There were no other reports of flooding in Indian River County as of 4:30 p.m.
Heavy rain in the area was expected to continue into the evening, according to the National Weather Service in Melbourne. Vero Beach received at least 3 inches of rainfall on Sunday, Meteorologist John Pendergrast said.
The city was expected to have a 90 percent chance of rain this afternoon, which will drop to 60 percent in the evening. The afternoon temperature will remain near 75 degrees, then drop to 65 degrees, meteorologists said.
Weather officials issued a special marine warning earlier for areas including the Sebastian Inlet down to the Jupiter Inlet. The warning expired at 4 p.m.
Pendergrast said the warning informs boaters and others near the Intracoastal Waterway or the Atlantic Ocean of strong winds. The warning is issued when wind gusts reach 40 mph, Pendergrast said.
