 Hurricane Ethel also brought heavy rains and strong winds to much of the Florida Panhandle . A maximum of 12 @.@ 94 inches ( 329 mm ) of rain fell at an agricultural experiment station near Milton , Florida , the highest total measured at an official station and attributed to this storm . Hurricane Donna struck Tampa , Florida , particularly hard earlier in the month , causing major flooding of Hillsborough River ( Florida ) at Zephyrhills , Florida on 12 September . People feared severe flooding of the Hillsborough River into Tampa , which did not occur . The highest wind gust in the state was 50 miles per hour ( 80 km / h ) , measured in both Pensacola and Apalachicola . A thunderstorm associated with Ethel produced lightning that hit a power station near Tallahassee , causing a city @-@ wide blackout for 10 minutes ( 600 s ) . According to Florida Highway Patrol , Ethel directly caused damage of $ 100 @,@ 000 ( 1960 USD ) in the state . Additionally Ethel spawned four tornadoes in Florida , one of which reached F2 intensity and damaged or destroyed 25 homes near Panama City . 
