LEVITTOWN, N.Y. (1010 WINS) — Five tornadoes touched down on Long Island Saturday afternoon, bringing the total to eight rare twisters that hit the Tri-state area, the National Weather Service said Tuesday.
"We can confirm an EF-0 struck North Bellport in Suffolk County on Saturday ... A total of 8 tornadoes from Saturday's event have now been confirmed; 5 on Long Island, 3 in Connecticut," the NWS tweeted.
The update from the NWS comes a day after the agency confirmed Monday that a fourth tornado, an EF-0, landed in Suffolk County and traveled from Remsburg to Westhampton, New York.
The first tornado, an EF0, landed in Woodmere around 2:37 p.m. and lasted about 18 minutes as it whipped northeast and ended in Levittown, according to the NWS.
Starting from Woodmere, the tornado lifted and skipped parts of the island before landing again near Levittown.
In Uniondale, the tornado landed touched down and tore off the roof of a two-story colonial building on Liberty Street and blew it onto a nearby house, according to the NWS.
And in Levittown, a large tree was felled, destroying a nearby house, according to the service.
Video posted to social media Saturday appears to show the storm as it made its way through the island.
A second EF0 tornado started on Hollins Lane in East Islip at 3:20 p.m. and moved through the area for two minutes before lifting near the John F. Kennedy Elementary School sports field on Woodland Drive. The NWS said a few dozen trees were uprooted.
The largest tornado was an EF1 that started in Shirley at 3:42 p.m. and ended in Manorville at 3:50 p.m., reaching winds of over 100 mph.
The EF1 likely touched down just southwest of Francine Place and Mastic Boulevard, traveling along the LIRR tracks and adjacent backyards while uprooting trees and causing minor damage to nearby houses.
The tornado flipped a five-ton air handler unit on the roof of the Lidl Supermarket on Montauk Highway and then caused the covered walkway at the Chipotle Mexican Grill to collapse.
A number of homes were also damaged by the EF1, including a house near McGraw Street and Grand Avenue that had its entire roof lifted off and tossed 150 yards, the NWS said.
The tornado eventually lifted near Tupelo Drive in Manorville.
No injuries were reported.
Three other tornadoes were reported in Branford, Cheshire and Stonington in Connecticut.
The tornadoes hit as the Tri-State area was battered by a brief, but strong thunderstorm Saturday aftrnoon, bringing strong winds and raining small balls of hail in some areas. The storm knocked out power for thousands in New York.
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