EDEN, N.Y. (WKBW) — Residents in the Town of Eden are picking up the pieces after an EF-0 tornado with an estimated peak wind of 85 MPH touched down in the town on Wednesday.
According to the National Weather Service, it touched down at 12:40 p.m. and ended at 12:44 p.m. The path length was 0.9 of a mile and the width was 75 yards.
"Minor tree damage was noted near the intersection of Jennings Road and Kickbush Gulf. Sporadic tree damage extended northeast from that point to the area of widest damage along Gary Drive and Sauer Road. In that location, multiple building had uprooted shallow rooted trees fall onto them," the NWS said in a Public Information Statement.
7 News' Derek Heid headed to Eden Thursday and spoke to residents who described what they experienced.
Gary Nobbs has lived in Eden for more than 50 years and he said he's never seen anything like this. A massive tree fell and demolished every bedroom inside his home.
"I mean, we're sitting there and we're watching TV and then suddenly the wind picked up and the trees came down. It happened so fast," said Nobbs.
He said he's still in shock and barely remembers the tree coming down, he's grateful he and his wife were in another room.
"We would have been dead. It would have killed us, for sure," said Nobbs.
Cheryl Hadrych had a tree crash through her attic while her elderly mom and sister were home.
"By the time I got here the fire department took them to the town hall, which I was grateful for," said Hadrych.
"They didn’t hear it happen?" Heid asked.
"No, my mother has bad hearing, she was in the shower, she thought it was lightning," said Hadrych.
August Hedderich's backyard and deck look more like a movie scene than his own property.
"I'm hoping to get somebody in here with chainsaws, and a roofer to get rid of what’s immediately on the house," said Hedderich.
Neighbors like Tim Gaul told 7 News what he witnessed will stick with him.
"I pulled into the yard and the rain started, so I stayed in the truck, then the next thing I know, I had trees flying past me," said Gaul. "It sounded like an airplane taking off. I’ve lived here all my life and I never seen nothing like this."
All four of them and their families are safe, but the shock of tornadoes in Western New York is not quickly fading.
The National Weather Service has confirmed that at least four tornadoes touched down in Western New York on Wednesday.
