Video shows wild storm winds lift truck, damage roofs and property in Lee County

FORT MYERS, Fla. —

Powerful winds swept through Cape Coral and Fort Myers during Sunday's storm, snapping branches, tearing roofs apart and sending debris flying.

In Cape Coral, winds reaching about 50 miles per hour ripped a toolbox from its bolts on a truck, as captured in exclusive video.

Mick Whitewood, a Cape Coral resident, said he was working on his truck when the storm hit.

"We just heard the "errr," the truck got pushed back about eight feet, and then the toolbox just came flying out," Whitewood said.

The National Weather Service described the event as a possible landspout or tornado, with video showing the winds lifting Whitewood's truck on Southwest Fourth Avenue.

"I've been to, in, you know, a few hurricanes, but nothing like a tornado or funnel cloud," Whitewood said.

In Fort Myers, an umbrella remains tangled in a power line after being lifted into the air by the storm in the Tanglewood neighborhood. At least two homes on Westminster Drive suffered roof damage. One homeowner said her roof will have to be replaced. Around the corner, video shows the wind moving around furniture and debris.

"It was a shock, and I'm a pretty quick responder. So, my brain, it's always say, get to your, you know, get inside in a safe place," said Katerina Dvorakova, the woman who took the video. "I don't panic usually, but as I was holding the phone, I was shaking."

Both Whitewood and Dvorakova reflected on the storm as a reminder of nature's unpredictability.

"With the hurricane, we know it's coming, OK, we know the week prior, and we work like little ants and bees and trying to cover the house. This was not, not expected," Dvorakova said.

"It just brings you flashbacks to 'All right, coming to that time of year again,'" Whitewood said.

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