SHAMOKIN - Thursday's question of the day was whether a tornado hit First Street Wednesday night.
Even though the National Weather Service (NWS) said the weather event was most likely straight-line winds, residents described it as tornado-like.
"I never heard it like that around here. It was really loud," Marissa Grodzki, 18, of 522 N. First St., Coal Township said Thursday afternoon.
"I heard a roar and saw rain whipping around like in a circle," said a woman at 805 W. Walnut St., Coal Township, who declined to give her name.
A "big blur" is how Melissa Kratzer, 551 N. First St., Shamokin, described it, while Sandra Thomas, 555 N. First St., Shamokin, said the rain was blowing horizontally.
At least seven trees were snapped in half on or around First Street. There were several in the 500 block, at the end of the road, in people's backyards, inside the playground and near Keefer's garage. Power lines fell in the wind, but were repaired by Thursday afternoon.
'Terrible wind'
Employees for Brookside Landscaping and Tree Service, Shamokin, were busy cutting up two downed trees that landed on the vehicles of Grodzki and her great-grandfather, Joseph Wasilewski, 74.
"This was wind. If it was lightning, the crack would be all the way down the tree," John Hovenstine, owner of Brookside, said while six of his employees worked.
Wasilewski said the wind sounded like a freight train.
"The next thing I knew, I heard a crash. She (Grodzki) looked out the window and hollered that the trees were on the car and truck," he said.
Grodzki said she saw someone's plastic garbage can in the air and the home's front door snapped open.
The car, a 1987 Cutlass Supreme, had been moved by early afternoon and sustained only minor hood damage. The truck, a 1979 Chevy, was still underneath the limbs and leaves as Brookside employees cut branches.
Residents said their houses shook. Others pointed out damaged or misplaced shingles, siding and gutters as a result of the winds.
"It was terrible wind, the rain was blowing, knocking things over and smashing stuff," Diane Schick, 567 N. First St., Shamokin, said.
"I was scared. I couldn't see much, it was so dark," said the woman at 805 W. Walnut St.
Calls to police
Shamokin Director of Public Safety William Milbrand said the city wood chipper was getting quite a bit of use Thursday. He noted there were additional trees down on Seventh and High streets and in Shamokin Creek.
Coal Township Manager Rob Slaby said several residents called the police department, saying a tornado had touched down.
When NWS was contacted late Thursday afternoon, meteorologist Peter Jung said there had been no tornado reports made to them.
Judging from a description of the damage, Jung said the most likely scenario was straight-line winds traveling between 60 and 70 mph.
"Loud noise with wind isn't necessarily a tornado. Anytime you have wind at 60 mph, it's going to make a lot of noise," he said.
Straight-line winds push debris in the same direction, Jung said. Tornadoes, however, will scatter debris in various directions.