BUFFALO, N.Y. — The weather in Buffalo may not be the greatest year-round, but even on the city’s West Side, residents weren't expecting a confirmed EF-1 tornado Monday.

"I was in the store, coming back, leaning on my neighbor's [pole], and holding myself, 'Help, there's a tornado going on,'" said Aris Tories, just a short ways away from some hung caution tape near damage. "I'm like in the air, like kind of flying. [It was] kind of scary but thank god everything is all right."

That's the prevailing sentiment after a tornado ripped through part of downtown Buffalo.

"This was a roof on Whitney [Pl.]," said Shatera Rice, showing pictures captured on her phone. "It was on top of a power line. And then somewhere down the street, it was like smoking really bad." 

Rice and Jo Tyson were just down the way from a park on Elmwood Avenue that was rocked by the storm.

"We were just in the shop just kind of hanging out, just finished an appointment," said Tyson, who works with Rice in a hair shop.

"It was pouring raining and then it was windy, so we just happened to open the door and it was like just wood and stuff flying everywhere," Rice added.

The intensity of the wind and rain died down quickly and everyone came out to assess.

"We kind of looked further down the street and we start seeing people coming outside," said Tyson. "We walked down further [and] there's trees down. The power is out. It was just crazy."

The not-so-old adage at this point: pics or it didn't happen.

"I always have it in my car," said Rice as she snapped more photos on a higher quality camera. "I take pictures of hair because I do lots at the shop and then just pictures of anything outside. So he was like, ‘Go grab your camera.’ And I was like, ‘OK.’"

It was not a very long event, but we've got more than film to tell the tale. 

"I kind of saw it funneling a little bit, but it would come down and suck back up and come down and suck back up," Rice said.

"[It was] shocking because, like, we get bad snow, you know, wintertime is crazy but summertime we just get rain," Tyson added.

"This is big in Buffalo," Tories said.

A short distance away more inland from Lake Erie, Dan Morrell and company caught a rumble in the Buffalo City Mission building. 

"We heard louder noises, the people shouting about a car being upside down," Worrel led on. "I came to the other side of the building. Lo and behold, my car is on its roof."

For Morrell and the five others in the lot that saw damage, as well as most property across downtown, replaceable.

"[I’m] just thankful no one got hurt," he added.

Not minutes after the winds died down, we saw the city of good neighbors right back up and at 'em. 

"Everybody's checking on everyone up the street and making sure everybody's safe and everybody's good," said Rice.

"I've been over here for like six years. I've never seen this. Everybody's outside asking each other if they're OK. It's pretty sweet, actually," Tyson added.

"It feels good,” said Rice. “It brings comfort.”