Strong winds scatter sheds, wreck backyards in Westmoreland County

NORTH HUNTINGDON TOWNSHIP, Pa. — Severe winds ripped through a neighborhood in Westmoreland County.

Frank Kingerski and his wife said they woke up after getting an alert on their phones to take cover.

“It said tornado watch, so we ran down to our basement and then we heard a big bang!” Kingerski said.

Frank and his wife live on Leo Street. When they looked outside through their back window after overnight winds, they weren’t shocked by what they saw…they were shocked by what they didn’t see.

“I took my flashlight and went, ‘Theresa, we don’t have any shed.’” said Kingerski. “And then I looked over here and said ‘We don’t have any sheds at all! They are all gone!’”

Isolated winds took four sheds, several trees, bikes, gardening supplies, and more and tossed them several yards away from Frank’s home.

Walls and doors of the sheds are now scattered in the trees of Frank’s backyard. He walked Channel 11 through his property, still in shock, by what he was able to find.

“Oh my gosh. There’s her seat to her bike,” said Kingerski as he pointed to his wife’s bike that was stuck upside down in their fence.

Frank’s neighbor also had a shed flip onto its side. He believes the winds came between their homes.

“It had to be a tornado,” said Kingerski. “There is no doubt in my mind. Wind would not have done this much damage. If it was wind, this cart would just have been up against the fence, and it wouldn’t have blown it up in the air that far.”

A National Weather Service team surveying near North Huntingdon said damage was caused by 60 to 70 mile per hour straight-line winds, not a tornado.

Frank said all he can do now is clean it up. He said the winds caused several thousand dollars in damage in the backyard, but thankfully, it did not harm the home he and his wife have lived in for over 50 years.

Channel 11 drove around the neighborhood and saw that no other property had extensive damage like Frank’s. It seemed as though this was an isolated incident that only went through a few yards.

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