More than three decades ago, they opted to build their two-story home in the 600 block of Bahns Mill Road, which is surrounded by woods, said Luanne McNew.
And during all their years spent in the home, a tree never fell onto their home or property, said McNew.
That changed Sunday, after a tornado touched down in Windsor Township.
A nearly 80-foot tree situated along the side of the McNew's home, snapped in half, landed across the front lawn, bring down a power line and breaking the telephone pole in their front yard.
"It's a good thing the tree fell forward and not sideways, because the tree would have fell through the huge glass windows (of my house)," said McNew, noting she was still without power and phone service Monday afternoon.
Officials from the National Weather Service teamed up with York County Emergency Services officials Monday afternoon to survey the storm's damage and ruled two tornadoes touched down, said county spokesman Carl Lindquist.
Tornadoes
According to the weather service, one of the tornadoes touched down in Windsor near Route 624 and Maryland Avenue and traveled a mile and three-quarters. The tornado was classified as an EF1 and had maximum wind speeds of 90 mph.
Six homes were affected with trees falling near or on them. All told, 50 trees were damaged or downed, the weather service said.
The second tornado, an EF0, hit near Bahns Mill Road in Windsor Township and traveled three-quarters of a mile before lifting off the ground. That tornado produced maximum wind speeds of 75 mph, the weather service said.
A couple of homes were affected and one tree came down on a house. A total of 15 trees were damaged or downed, the weather service said.
Kevin Fitzgerald, weather service meteorologist, said survey crews looked at convergent patterns of fallen trees in making their determination.
More damage: About 165 Met-Ed customers were still without service in Windsor and Hellam townships because of electric poles that were damaged during the storm, said spokeswoman Kathy Seilhamer.
McNew stood in her driveway, sighing and running her fingers through her hair in frustration, while assessing the storm's mess in her front yard and discussing cleanup options.
"My husband (Kris) got his chainsaw out last night and cut up a tree blocking our driveway so that he could get his Envoy into the garage (Sunday night)," said McNew.
She said she's glad she and her husband weren't home during the storm and relieved the tree didn't fall on their home or into the swimming pool in their backyard.
Several other homes sustained property damage when the storm brought down trees across York County, said Lindquist.
Eight separate incidents of trees falling on structures, including a shed, garage, mobile home and five houses, were reported in Windsor Township, Red Lion and Felton, he said.
In the first block of Main Street in Yorkana, two separate structures were damaged, he said. One garage roof was damaged by high winds, while another garage was damaged by a tree that fell down.
Luckily, no injuries were reported as a result of downed trees on the homes, said Lindquist.
A home along Maryland Avenue in Windsor Borough was also damaged after a tree came down on it, also bringing down power lines, said borough council president Rick Gipe.
"I don't know if it was caused by a tornado, but what I can tell you is that (the storm) was one of the worst storms I've ever seen in my many years," said Gipe.
The borough experienced street flooding and trees blocking the roads Sunday night, he said. However, everything was cleaned up and operating as usual by Sunday evening, he said, giving credit to the Laurel Fire Co.
"We are real fortunate we didn't have more damage and no one was hurt," he said.
A few miles away in Red Lion, more debris and downed trees blocked Charles Street, said borough manager Dianne Price.
As of Monday afternoon, Charles Street was still closed because the tree also brought down power lines, said Price.
Price, however, doesn't believe a tornado went through Red Lion because the borough didn't experience a significant amount of damage like Windsor township and borough.
Person hurt: Properties weren't the only injuries reported after Sunday's storm.
A Harford County, Md., man who attempted to brave the deep, choppy waters produced from the storm, was injured Sunday night while rafting on Muddy Creek in Peach Bottom Township, said said Fire Chief Jeff Griffith of Delta Cardiff Fire Co.
After the strong thunderstorm, a group of young adults were rafting on the creek around 6 p.m., when one of the men, whose name was unavailable, was separated from his group, said Griffith.
Because of the heavy rainfall, the creek rose and produced choppy waters, which more than likely caused the man to fall out of his raft, said Griffith.
He slipped on wet rocks in the creek and either sprained or broke his lower leg or ankle, said Griffith.
"By the time we got there, he was already out of the water," he said.
However, the injured rafter was transported to Upper Chesapeake Medical Center in Bel Air, Md.
Staff writer Greg Gross contributed to this report.
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