Residents on Buffalo’s West Side react to tornado

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Neighbors in Buffalo are shocked to see the aftermath of a tornado that ripped through their neighborhood along Carolina Street and Prospect Avenue.

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The National Weather Service Buffalo confirmed an EF-1 tornado with an estimated peak wind of 90 mph touched down on Monday.

There are reports of damaged buildings and trees and power poles down. No injuries have been reported at this time.

Some people faced the tornado themselves, like Hawa Hamadi.

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“It was so crazy and the fact that I was out here and it lifted up my whole car,” she said. “We see drywall in the air, so I’m like what is that? So it just comes spinning, lifted up the car and put it back down and I’m like was that what it was? Should we get out the car, should we stay in the car? We stayed in. 10 seconds later it just stopped.”

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Hawa told me she lives in the apartments on the corner of Niagara and Carolina Streets where there’s no power.

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A few blocks down, Craig Franklin and his son went to see his family because they also don’t have power.

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“The weather is definitely changing around us so just to be more prepared,” he said. “They are without power so we’re just making sure they have everything they need. They might come and stay with me tonight because it’s a little warm, so no AC nobody’s getting any sleep.”

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“Sometimes I see those tornado warnings from the city and I kind of just write them off, because, who has ever seen a tornado in Buffalo,” said Jesse Ellis. “Now, I’m going to be taking them seriously. It’s pretty scary.”

National Grid has since restored power to almost all residents.