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Tornado Confirmed in Union County

EF-1 tornado confirmed in Buffalo Valley, Union County. #PAwx pic.twitter.com/ks82ziw1sQ — NWS State College (@NWSStateCollege) April 15, 2019 EAST BUFFAL...

EAST BUFFALO TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- A tornado touched down early Monday morning in Union County, according to the National Weather Service.

An EF-1 tornado was confirmed near Buffalo Valley in East Buffalo Township.  It uprooted trees at the Buffalo Valley United Methodist Church and destroyed a barn, according to officials.

Downed trees, smashed cars, and ripped up barns were just some of the damage Newswatch 16 saw in the Lewisburg area.

According to the National Weather Service, an EF-1 tornado touched down just after 12:30 a.m. around Buffalo Township, just outside the borough.

"I didn't know what was going on. All you heard was this big, loud sound. We thought that lightning had struck. It wasn't until I got the boys and we got to the bottom of the stairs that I saw the branches in the ceiling," said Patricia Snyder.

Branches in the ceiling are not something you expect to see inside your home, but that became a reality for the Snyder family. A massive evergreen tree came crashing down onto their home that they just moved into and renovated earlier this year.

"When she went up to get the kids and you hear just this loud bang. My ears were ringing two hours later. I was trying to scream for her, like, 'Are you OK?' but it literally felt like your throat closed up and I couldn't speak," Devin Snyder said.

Luckily, Patricia, Devin, and their four kids weren't hurt.

Just down the road, Corey Stacks describes his wild morning.

"We realize what's going, it's a tornado, something crazy. The whole house is shaking. We hear hail and we're talking, 'Oh, I hope our cars are OK with the hail.' Little did we know a whole tree fell on it. Luckily, everyone is OK. A car is replaceable, somebody isn't," said Stacks.

We spoke with one man who owns a tree cutting business. He tells Newswatch 16 he started getting calls around 6 a.m., expects to work until it's dark out, and continue all week long.

"Today has been a little hectic. A lot of people don't like when they see high winds coming, but when I see high winds coming, I know it's going to be a busy day working," said Andrey Kozlov of Thunder Ridge Tree Service.

An EF-1 tornado has winds between 86 and 110 miles per hour.

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