No, it wasn't a tornado, but it sure seemed like it at the time. The same storm did spawn a tornado in Connecticut. This damage is just from a down burst with wind speeds around 100 miles per hour. I was just turning into our apartment complex, and the sky suddenly darkened dramatically. The wind hit the car like a bullet. I pulled into the parking lot by the local deli right in the middle away from any trees. I was proud of myself for keeping a clear head. Huge trees fell all around us as the wind roared and the rain flew sideways all around the car. My daughter was in the car with me, and she was screaming and reaching out to be held. I stroked her leg instead, knowing that she would be safer in the car seat. Of course the safest place would have been in a basement somewhere, or laying flat in a ditch, but it came on so fast that there wasn't time to do anything, and thankfully, it wasn't a tornado. It blew through in just a couple of minutes and then the sun came out. As I pulled out of the parking lot and drove down the driveway toward the apartment, I had to drive over the grass as trees had fallen across the road and onto other people's cars. Huge trees were pulled out by the roots and snapped in half. Some trees were sheared at the top. I was grateful that nobody was hurt. Everyone who saw the storm was sure it was a tornado, because that's what it looked and felt like, but according to the National Weather Service, there was no rotation. It was sure scary though. I'm grateful to God for keeping us safe. The down burst occurred at 1:30 pm when my son was safely in school, my husband was safely at work. Thank God!
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