ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — A tornado tore through a neighborhood Thursday afternoon in St. Petersburg. Some people saw significant damage to their homes.
Officials explained preliminary information indicates the damage was caused by an EF-1 tornado, according to the National Weather Service in Ruskin.
People impacted lived on or near 9th Avenue in St Pete. That's where trees fell on homes.
One family is heartbroken to see the damage just 10 days before Christmas.
Amber Byers and her children were in the holiday spirit putting decorations all around their home. The tornado brought that spirit to a screeching halt.
"This window broke here and there’s our tree... I lifted it back up, but as you can see, we have balls all over the ground and glass obviously everywhere," Byers explained as she showed 10 Tampa Bay crews the damage to her house.
When they got the warning about the storm, Byers figured it would be like most Florida storms.
"Literally within a split second, we heard a noise – it sounded like a freight train," Byers said.
That's when windows shattered in her house.
"The next thing I knew, wind was blowing water in our house and glass was shattering. I just was like 'Oh my gosh!'" Byers explained.
Once Byers stepped outside, she could tell this storm was different.
"When I saw that our tree was completely gone, I literally just lost it and started crying. That tree is been there forever and ever and ever. We call it our family tree. We take all of our pictures by it. Now it’s probably a stump," Byers said.
More trees were toppled throughout Byer's neighborhood off 9th Avenue.
One woman had pieces of her neighbor's house in her yard. "The roof of my neighbors' houses in my yard. How am I going to clean this mess?" she questioned.
Just down the road, parents rushed to the preschool attached to St Vincent's Episcopal Church where a tree fell onto the building.
"They told me immediately that everyone was safe," one father said.
For Byers, that’s the Christmas miracle. Despite some terrifying moments, nobody was hurt.
"Our house is damaged. Our tree is. Christmas tree is damaged. Presents damaged, but we can replace all that stuff. We can’t replace our lives," Byers said.
You can donate to the family's GoFundMe by clicking here.