PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (CBS12) — Some residents say their phones didn’t alert them until after a tornado had already hit Sunday evening.

The confirmed EF-0 tornado touched down in Port St. Lucie just after 6 p.m., bringing winds of up to 75 mph and damaging several homes.

Carol Cadotte, who lives in Port St. Lucie, said she quickly went inside her home after hearing a strange noise.

“I just felt like a suction and a really strange noise,” Cadotte said.

The storm peeled roofs from homes, scattered debris across yards and damaged fences, boats and a pool gazebo.

The National Weather Service says the tornado first touched down around 6:10 p.m. and traveled a little more than two miles over roughly 15 minutes.

It then moved across the St. Lucie River, where it became a waterspout, before moving back onto land around 6:20 p.m. near the Bay St. Lucie community.

The tornado warning wasn’t issued until 6:28 p.m.

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That means the warning came about 18 minutes after the tornado first touched down.

“Our phones went off and we looked at each other like, you’re kidding me, right?” Cadotte said. “Twenty minutes later, that’s something’s wrong with that picture.”

Why was the warning delayed?

CBS12 News StormTrac Chief Meteorologist Greg Rule says radar limitations made it difficult for forecasters to immediately identify a tornado threat.

“Basically the radar beam was flying up and over the storm system, so it didn’t really have a clear defined rotation,” Rule said. “When we were looking at it on radar yesterday, it didn’t scream out, ‘Hey, this has potential for a tornado.’”

That’s part of what makes tornadoes so difficult to predict.

They can form quickly, and sometimes the warning signs aren’t immediately obvious on radar.

There are ways to make sure you know when severe weather is moving in.

Because tornadoes can develop rapidly, meteorologists say residents should not rely on just one source for severe weather information.

Rule recommends keeping Wireless Emergency Alerts turned on through your phone.

He also recommends having a NOAA Weather Radio programmed for your county and downloading the CBS12 Weather app for additional weather information and alerts.

And if a tornado warning is issued for your area, don’t wait to see the tornado before taking action. Get inside and take shelter immediately.