Ocala residents clean up damage after EF1 tornado touches down

MARION COUNTY, Fla. — Nearly 60 homes were damaged when an EF1 tornado moved through Marion County on Monday, leaving a path of destruction in its wake.

National Weather Service officials said an EF1 tornado typically has wind gusts between 86-109 mph.

Channel 9's Jeff Deal and meteorologist George Waldenberger spent Tuesday in the Palm Cay and Oak Run subdivisions near Ocala, the two areas that suffered the bulk of the damage.

Slideshow: Storms damage Ocala homes

Raw: Skywitness 9 HD over damage | Family describes storm

According to Waldenberger, uprooted and broken trees are down and pointing in different directions, which is an indication that the winds doing the damage were from a tornado, rather than straight-line winds.

"On the left side of tornado's path, typically we don't see as much damage as on the right side because the tornado windspeed is offset by the movement of the tornado in the opposite direction," Waldenberger said.

The tornado caused a giant tree to fall on Barbara Symanski's home, literally splitting it in half.

Symanski said she was sitting in the home when the storm suddenly hit.

"I was standing right here looking out," she said. "I was terrorized. I heard it coming."

The next thing she knew, an 80-foot oak tree crashed through her roof and through her walls, leaving a gaping hole in the center of her home just feet from where she was standing.

Symanski's husband, Jim, said he was on his way home when his wife called to break the news.

"She said the tree fell on the house.  I thought she was joking, because I knew the trees were here. You just never think it's going to happen," he said.

Both of the Symanskis are in good spirits and glad that no one was injured.

"I'm thankful to be here," Barbara Symanski said. "I'm fortunate. I think someone was watching over me."

The tornado damaged dozens of other homes, toppling trees and causing branches to fall.

Marion County Fire Department officials said 55 homes were damaged, and 10 of those are uninhabitable.

Officials from the fire department and city code enforcement continue to assess the seriously damaged homes to see if they can be salvaged.

WFTV