LONGWOOD, Fla. – A man in Longwood managed to catch video as a violent tornado raged through his neighborhood on Monday morning.
The man — Don Shenoy — shared footage of the experience that he said he grabbed from security cameras at his home along Blue Iris Place.
The videos show Shenoy’s yard before the powerful EF-2 tornado struck, wreaking havoc as it passed by.
In one of the videos, a camera catches the storm as it blows over chairs and plants outside the house.
According to the NWS, the tornado touched down at 9:35 a.m. in Wekiva Springs before pushing through Blue Iris Place, causing a two-story home in the neighborhood to collapse from the intensity.
The NWS reported that the tornado likely reached its peak around this point, reaching winds of up to 120 mph. The storm ultimately weakened and dissipated minutes later after moving into Lake Mary.
During its route, the tornado also crossed over Interstate 4, with one driver managing to capture the moment on camera.
“We’re in the middle of a tornado... not sure what size it is or anything, hopefully it’s just a little one,” she says in the video. “...Lot of debris, pretty scary.”
News 6 Chief Meteorologist Candace Campos said tornadoes of this magnitude are very rare in Central Florida. Typically, the region sees tornadoes ranging from EF-0 to EF-1.
Monday’s tornado was the strongest to hit Seminole County since the EF-3 on Feb. 23, 1998. Its peak winds of 120 mph were comparable to a major Category 3 hurricane, which has wind speeds reaching between 111-129 mph.
Tornadoes are classified using the Enhanced Fujita (EF) scale, which works as follows:
Per the NWS and county officials, no injuries were reported from Monday’s tornado. However, the county estimated around $10 million in damage as a result of the storm.