PALMETTO, Fla. — Neighbors in the Shadow Brook Mobile Home Park are reeling after an unannounced wind event swept through Palmetto over the weekend.
"No warning we didn’t know," said Evelyn Thomas, a neighbor.
Watch full report from Annette Gutierrez
"I had no time to react," said William Meade, a neighbor. "I was scared for about a second, and then it was over."
Carports, pieces of metal, and debris were flying all over the place, Sunday. And neighbors were left to pick up the pieces.
"It was done, and the carport was gone," said Meade. "It took seconds."
The North River Fire Rescue tells Tampa Bay 28 at least two homes lost their roofs in what the National Weather Service is calling a thunderstorm wind event.
As reporter Annette Gutierrez walked through the neighborhood to listen to community members, she found one homeowner who lost their entire roof, and Meade, who lost his entire carport.
"When I came out here, I was in shock," said Meade. "I came out here, and I looked up and I was just like wait what…"
Meade said it sounded like a bulldozer came through his house.
"What caught my attention was the sound of the metal, the sheet metal sliding across my roof, and that’s when I thought, something’s not right," said Meade. "I came out here and my wife was grabbing my kids - her first reaction was to try and take them to the bathtub, it was already over, there was no time."
NWS reports winds that reached anywhere from 45 to 55 miles per hour, but their findings did not support the patterns of a typical tornado.
"It was scary," said Thomas. "My mom, she lives with me, she was scared, I was scared."
Thomas said it was scary enough to feel like a tornado.
"We were sitting in the living room and we heard a noise and all of a sudden, I say ‘oh my gosh’ is it going to come through the living room," said Thomas.
Manatee County’s Emergency Management team said they delivered more than 30 tarps to help protect the damaged homes.
But luckily, no one was injured.
Neighbors said they are grateful to everyone who came together to help – including the county and the fire departments.
"It was wonderful, everybody was coming out looking and seeing if everyone was alright, it was very nice," said Thomas.
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