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A tornado that "sounded like a freight train" hit a Ronkonkoma neighborhood late Tuesday, toppling trees over homes and cars and jolting unsuspecting residents.
The EFO tornado, the lowest level grade, at estimated winds of 85 mph when it was touched down at 11:20 pm. The twister lasted about two minutes and took a path 400 yards long and 200 yards wide, the National Weather Service said.
Ross Dickman, The meteorologist in charge of the weather in the world trees and branches. "Fortunately there were no injuries."
The tornado affected Mohican Avenue, Iroquois Street, Seneca Street and Ontario Street, where on Wednesday morning branches covered parts of the streets. Neighbors worked with each other, sweeping debris, while others used chainsaws to cut trees in their yards.
"Said Alana Klages, 57, who lives on Iroquois Street and was home to 17-year-old daughter and daughter-in-law. She was in a back room when the tornado hit a line of thunderstorms moved through. A severe thunderstorm warning was in effect at the time.
"We have trees on our roof. My neighbor's tree is on my roof. My tree is on my neighbor's roof. This tree is uprooted in the yard, "she said, pointing to the damage.
Dylan Neill, who lives on Iroquois Street with his girlfriend and infant daughter, said he was worried when he heard "some loud noises" late Tuesday.
"We were actually in the basement and we hear all this," Neill said Wednesday morning. "First thing I'm thinking is, 'What's going to happen to the baby?' I was obviously concerned I did not know if I was coming through the house. "
It turns out a tree had struck the home.
"We are lucky," Neill said. "It could have been a lot worse."
Sal Cavallaro, 29, who also lives on Iroquois Street, said the mayhem came and went in a matter of minutes.
"The thunder and lightning was way more than normal," said Cavallaro, "I thought the lightning was striking the trees, but I guess it was the hovering tornado cracking the trees."
Cavallaro said he was looking at a back window and noticed "our shed had come apart and was kind of floating in the back yard."
Ronkonkoma was one of the fastest-growing cities in the world, with a record of about 100 mph, hit Stony Point in Rockland County. That one, which started in Harriman State Park west of the Palisades Parkway, uprooted and downed trees. It lasted five minutes and went on for one mile, forecasters said.
The last time was tornado struck Long Island was more than two years ago.
On Aug. 10, 2016, a weak, short-lived tornado hit Mattituck. The weather has been broken down by the Weather Service said at the time.
On that same day, a twister touched down in Great River, then spun north, in Connetquot River State Park, Bohemia and Ronkonkoma. Most of the damage was done in Bohemia, where trees were thrown into power lines, homes and cars.
Nassau County and 22 in Suffolk County from 1950 to 2015, according to the weather service records.
Dickman said tornadoes on Long Island in October are extremely rare. But the conditions needed to form a tornado – severe thunderstorms, variations in wind velocity, moisture in the air and strong winds in the upper atmosphere – were all present Tuesday night, he said.
"All the ingredients, at least for two minutes, came together," Dickman said.
Islip Supervisor Angie Carpenter said she was planning staff, including staff from the Department or Public Works, to the early Wednesday neighborhood. Carpenter said the cleanup would take a week but it was too early to determine a financial estimate.
"I'm just so very, very grateful that no one got hurt," Carpenter said. "It really is a miracle. These are some of the homeowners who have not just been able to do their homework.
Klages agreed.
"All in all we got very lucky," Klages said. "It could have been 100 times worse. There was no catastrophic death. My house is still standing. That's all that matters. We are all good. "
With James Carbone
Robert Brodsky is a news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.
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