Twisters in town

Things like this just don't happen here in Maine, let alone in your back yard. To say that I was scared out of my mind is a complete understatement. To top it off, Monkey was still with his father and was dropped off at exactly 7:00, they drove just to the north of the toronado and just about lost the windshield. This was right after I sent a text and called repeatedly to get them to stay where they were. At least he made it home safe!

WMTW - Channel 8 News, Portland Maine

POSTED: 8:16 am EDT July 22, 2010 / UPDATED: 12:43 pm EDT July 23, 2010

GORHAM, Maine -- The National Weather Service confirmed Thursday afternoon that tornadoes touched down in Limerick, Alfred and a third tore through Buxton, Gorham and Westbrook on Wednesday.

John Jensenius, a meteorologist at the NWS, said a twister hit Foss Road in Limerick on Wednesday evening. Jensenius told News 8 that the tornado had winds of 90 mph, making it an EF 1.

The second twister had winds of 90 mph, and was on the ground for 12 minutes and traveled 5.5 miles from Buxton to the Gorham-Westbrook town line.

The third touched down in Alfred and was also an EF 1 twister.

The National Weather Service said Maine averages two EF 1 tornadoes per year.

In all, there were three tornado warnings in Maine on Wednesday. Many residents in the town of Gorham believe a twister touched down there too, but that has not been confirmed yet.

News 8 WMTW reporter Steve Minich said dozens of trees were uprooted in Gorham and landed on homes and cars.

Power has been restored to everyone who lost it during the storm.

 

The X is my neighborhood, the red trail is the path of the toronado, starting left and moving right. Webster Rd is in Buxton / Finn Parker Rd is in Gorham.

 

I'm going to apologize up front for the sound in this footage,  you can tell I was more than a little nervous! And so was the monkey.

Taken around 6:45, just as things were starting to get a little hairy

And this one around 6:50 - from what I can gather, the toronado was touching down 1/2 mile down the road at this time.

This video, taken just after 7:00, shows the skies as the first storm passed

And this one around 8:00, when all was said and done. Phew!