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Three tornadoes ripped through parts of Long Island over the weekend, toppling trees, downing power lines and even ripping the roof off a building in Nassau County, the National Weather Service said Sunday.
The first EF-0 twister carried winds of 65 to 85 mph when it touched down in Woodmere shortly after 2:30 p.m. Saturday, then swept through Hempstead, Uniondale and Levittown.
“Damage reports were sporadic, but in Uniondale, N.Y., the tornado touched down again and tore a roof off a two-story Colonial building, including shingles, insulation and twisted siding was thrown into the next block up,” the service said in an alert.
“Significant damage was also noted near Clover Lane in Levittown, where a large tree was felled onto a house before the tornado lifted,” the alert said.
Officials said no casualties were reported despite the property damage that knocked out power to more than 12,000 PSEG customers on Long Island, WPIX-TV reported.
“I look out and see the wind is picking up and just at that minute as I pull down the shade I swear the stuff that was blowing in the street [was] unbelievable,” local Carol Nelson told the station. “I think we all were lucky that someone wasn’t killed or hurt.”
Further east in Suffolk County, two twisters touched down, leaving a similar trail of damage.
Three other tornadoes hit Rhode Island and southeast Connecticut over the weekend, the first since at least 1950 to strike the area in November, the National Weather Service said Sunday.
The service confirmed the three tornadoes touched down Saturday evening. An EF-1 hit near Stonington, and Westerly, Rhode Island; an EF-0 hit in North Kingstown, Rhode Island; and another EF-0 touched down near Plainfield, and Foster, Rhode Island. Representatives from the service were in the region Sunday to investigate damage. No deaths or injuries were reported.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
