WEBSTER, N.Y. — The tornado count from Wednesday is up to eight now, according to a statement from the National Weather Service, which stated that a tornado touched down in Webster.
According to the NWS statement — which notes that the information is subject to change pending final review — the tornado touched down shortly before 7:30 p.m. in the vicinity of Salt Road just north of Route 104, evidenced by several snapped softwood trees. The tornado then crossed Route 104 and headed southeast, with another area of concentrated damage — hardwood trees snapped or uprooted; power poles knocked down — near the intersection of Baaket and Ridge roads.
The NWS says the most significant damage occurred at a small subdivision just west of County Line Road, with roof uplift, considerable shingle loss and siding damage on a few homes on Halesworth Lane and Bannerwood Drive, and numerous trees in the subdivision uprooted.
After traveling through a large forested area with no road access, the tornado emerged along North Lincoln Road just north of Whitney Drive, causing extensive tree damage to a large property where numerous mature trees were uprooted or snapped, before lifting just east of that area, NWS reported.
This information comes after a damage survey by the NWS in Buffalo across eastern Monroe County and western Wayne County, in response to reports of concentrated damage from a line of severe thunderstorms, according to NWS.
One Webster resident told News10NBC’s Erin Mahon she feels justified in her initial thoughts during the storm. On Thursday, Kate Monfort showed the path the storm took, ripping through a line of trees that fell one by one. On Saturday, two Rochester firefighters came by to help clear the trees for neighbors.
The Monforts say they spoke with the National Weather Service representative who was there taking pictures Saturday morning.
“We just kind of knew what we saw, what we felt, like and we have so much damage. And then seeing them declaring it all the other places, we were kind of like, ‘I know that’s what happened.’ So feeling just kind of like, yes, like kind of justified that we knew what it was and it was actually a tornado,” Kate Monfort said.
On Thursday, other neighbors showed how the winds lifted their entire shed off the ground, throwing it several feet away and turning it 180 degrees.
Previously, seven tornadoes had been confirmed: two in Seneca County, in Waterloo and Fayette; and one each in Niagara County (Olcott), Genesee County (Alexander), Orleans County (East Shelby); Livingston and Wyoming counties (near Letchworth State Park).
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