Suspected Tornado Leaves Behind Trail Of Damage On Long Island
UPDATE 11/14/2021: National Weather Service Confirms Tornado Touched Down On Long Island
LEVITTOWN, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- A suspected tornado touched down on Long Island on Saturday, leaving a lot of people running for cover.
As CBS2's Kiran Dhillon reports, the storm was fast-moving but intense. Strong winds brought a tree down onto a car in Levittown, and many who live in the area say they are just thankful no one was inside when it happened.
The winds were fierce and the rain was heavy as the suspected tornado whipped through parts of Long Island, leaving behind a trail of damage and destruction.
Ann Pizaro lives on Hilltop Road in Levitttown. She was shocked when she saw three trees, including one that smashed into her neighbor's car, had crashed into her yard.
"It was just a loud boom and the car alarms, and it was just all three trees fell at once," she said. "Since Sandy, nothing like this ... With shingles blown off the roof and trees down, they snapped. I'm calling it a tornado."
Some incredible storm damage in #Levittown #LongIsland tonight. Suspectsd tornadoes moved through earlier this afternoon @CBSNewYork luckily no one was injured when this tree toppled into this vehicle #storm #tornado #newyork pic.twitter.com/kUcvaVzgCB
— Kiran Dhillon (@KiranDhillonTV) November 14, 2021
Across the street, the storm also wreaked havoc at Subin Heo's home.
"I see the electrical pole in our backyard is completely snapped in half and it's just hanging there by the wires, and it was just crazy," Heo said.
The storm only lasted for a few moments, but its damage was widespread. Just a few blocks away near the corner of Heather Lane and Clover Lane, heavy wind caused a tree to topple into a home that was under construction.
"It's unbelievable. I couldn't believe it. It's a huge tree. And the amount of damage it did, like, you can see, it's off the slab. It's crazy. Like, this house has to be completely taken down and started over," homeowner Nick Barberil said.
Meanwhile, at an area airport, several planes were overturned.
The storm also resulted in thousands of people being left without power. Several hours later, homeowners were still using generators or candles to get by.
"I tried to take the dog for a walk, but there's so much debris in the sidewalk and street, you can't even do that, and we'll just light a fire tonight and kind of camp out ... It'll be cold," Pizaro said.
Officials say crews are working to restore power to impacted customers, but there's no word yet on when that work will be complete.
CBS2's Kiran Dhillon contributed to this report. Editor's note: This story was first published Nov. 13.