UPDATE: The National Weather Service confirmed that the damage detailed in this story was caused by a short-lived EF-0 tornado.
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ORIGINAL STORY:
LOXAHATCHEE, Fla. -- Heavy winds and damage in Palm Beach County from a fast-moving storm late on Friday afternoon left people in Loxahatchee wondering if it was a tornado.
“There was that real distinct sound that I’ve heard before, that choochoo train came into my yard,” said Mike McMahon, who owns a home in western Loxahatchee.
A furious wind and a dousing rain roared through the spacious Loxahatchee neighborhood, first hitting McMahon’s yard.
“I’m in the backyard and I see it go black, just a wall of water coming at me and it got real loud,” he said.
There was some light damage, like some branches down, but for the most part he came away unscathed.
“And then I watched it go to my neighbor’s house and I could hear the metal start to tear off, I could hear it buckling clattering and I could see the funnel cloud,” McMahon said.
“Pretty much peeled the roof of it,” said John Webb, the owner of the barn.
Over the Loxahatchee area in Palm Beach County, an NWS damage survey confirmed a short-lived EF-0 Tornado on May 3rd at 4:50 PM that damaged a horse stable, nearby fencing, and trees. #Flwx pic.twitter.com/efsCMyK2Uq
— NWS Miami (@NWSMiami) May 4, 2019
The damage there the clearest evidence an intense storm was here.
“All the yard furniture blown several hundred feet from the house all the way out behind the barn,” he said.
Thankfully, the barn was empty.
“All in all, we’re lucky, nobody got hurt. it’s just damage,” Webb said.
“Oh, I got a great story, I’ll make it a better story the more times I tell it,” McMahon said, chuckling.
“We got a lot of work to do over the weekend, I gotta find a roofer,” Webb said, also to laughter.
A strong storm like this is no match for a good attitude.
