Jul. 16--Meteorologists at the National Weather Service in Melbourne this morning are heading out to inspect areas affected by severe storms Wednesday to determine if a tornado was responsible for the damages.

An official at the weather service said surveyors might have confirmation by 10:30 a.m. Witness reports show a funnel cloud had been spotted in Orange County.

Severe winds Wednesday night ripped the roof off a south Orange County warehouse as thunderstorms pounded the Interstate 4 corridor from Kissimmee to Deltona, flooding roads and sparking at least one fire.

No injuries were reported, but 16 families were homeless after a presumed lightning strike hit Hidden Pond apartments on Lee Road in Winter Park, city fire investigator Scott Donovan said.

Hail was reported in Buenaventura Lakes and Kissimmee, where 4 inches of rain fell in 2 1/2 hours, the National Weather Service said.

Also in Osceola County, 1,119 customers of Kissimmee Utility Authority were left in the dark after a lightning strike hit some equipment about 7:45 p.m. Power was restored by 8:20 p.m., a spokesman said.

In Orange County, an Ikon Office Solutions warehouse filled with copiers lost most of its roof and left 16,792 machines exposed to the weather. The building, on Investor Row in an industrial park off South Orange Blossom Trail, sustained even heavier damage during Hurricane Charley in 2004, said employee Jimmy Poethig.

The storm upended two large trailers -- one belonging to Ikon -- and spun a smaller FedEx trailer around. No damage estimate was available.

Orange County Fire Rescue responded to more than 117 calls for service from about 7 p.m. until 10 p.m.

They included car accidents, medical emergencies and fires.

Sporadic flooding was reported across the region. John Young Parkway east of Orange Blossom Trail was partly underwater, and a sport utility vehicle was reported to have crashed partly through a guardrail on Interstate 4 near Fairbanks Avenue about 9 p.m.

Walter Pacheco of the Sentinel staff contributed to this report. Susan Jacobson can be reached at 407-540-5981 or sjacobson@orlandosentinel.com.

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