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Tornadoes, storms leave path of destruction

Posted at 11:26 PM, Jul 20, 2017
and last updated 2017-07-20 23:26:07-04

The Erie County Fairground is just one of the many places dealing with tornado damage.

The early afternoon storm rolled through the Town of Hamburg on Thursday, causing a major mess.

One Hamburg resident witnessed his car being lifted by a tornado. He and his family were some the first to see the EF-2 that cut through Hamburg.

The storm moved east, hitting the Fairgrounds. The wind blew out the windows in most of the cars in the parking lot. Everyone in the casino was safely evacuated.

Despite the damage, the Erie County Fair is expected to start on time.

The Hamburg tornado packed winds topping 100 miles per hour. Some of the strongest winds may have been along the Hamburg, Orchard Park border.

The roof of one Orchard Park garage was no match for the storm.

“My family is here. They are all intact. They're worth a lot more than my property.”

The storm may have been the worst on Best Street.

“There was debris flying by all the windows. It was unbelievable.”

Roofs were blown off or crushed by trees, but neighbors were quick to help one another.

The common theme throughout Hamburg, surprise.

“It's unbelievable. We live in Buffalo because we have snow. We don't have tornadoes in Buffalo.”

Despite two tornados touching down in Erie County, there are no reports of serious injury.