3 Tornadoes Touched Down On Long Island During Saturday Storm
LEVITTOWN, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- The National Weather Service confirmed three tornadoes touched down on Long Island as a fast-moving storm moved through the area Saturday afternoon.
The NWS said an EF-0 tornado briefly touched down in Woodmere, Uniondale and Levittown.
In Woodmere, the tornado knocked down several trees and powerlines. In Uniondale, a roof was torn off a two-story colonial building and thrown onto a nearby house while shingles, insulation and twisted siding were carried into the next block up.
The NWS said an EF-0 also touched down in East Islip, knocking down a few dozen large trees, and an EF-1 traveled from Shirley to Manorville, where a covered walkway collapsed, a roof was torn off a home and several small planes at Brookhaven Airport were flipped or moved.
Yards across Levittown were laying in ruins Sunday as residents continued cleaning up the damage, CBS2's Christina Fan reported.
Families surveyed their broken fences and damaged homes and were astonished at how the fast-moving storm caused so much trouble.
"All of a sudden, boom! A big noise and this window come in and a branch. Glass all over the living room floor," said Ed Warch.
Warch, 88, said he had just received a tornado warning on his phone and was still reading it when pandemonium broke out.
Families told CBS2 there was no time to run and no place to hide - many homes in Levittown were built on concrete slabs and don't have basements.
"I didn't even think about it because I didn't think it was really much of a possibility around here," one man said.
Neighbors said they had to scramble for the next best thing.
"I yelled at my wife to get into the bathroom," said Tom Ottinger.
"The only other place you can go is the bathroom, in the tub, if that were the case. Other than that, no, just say a little prayer and we'll go from there," said Warch.
Luckily, most of the damage was limited to property. On Cornflower Road, families immediately called 911 after realizing a tree fell and trapped a woman in her living room.
"The fire department came, the police came and they were able to get her out in a wheelchair right out the front door," said Dylan Harrigan.
Families said help arrived as quickly as the storm moved through.
Editor's note: This story first appeared on Nov. 14.
