LONGWOOD, Fla. – March 10 marks one year since an EF-2 tornado ripped through the Whispering Winds neighborhood in the Longwood area.
Neighbors say it came without much warning, and within minutes left a trail of destruction behind. Simone Behar remembers pulling into her driveway and being caught in the storm. One of her home security cameras captured the tornado as it came through.
“I was basically trapped in the garage with the tornado, trying to get inside to my safe room,” Behar recalled. “I ran inside, protected my dogs, put my head down, and it just blew through.”
On Monday, our News 6 crew revisited Whispering Winds to hear Behar’s story and see how what a difference a year has made.
In the immediate aftermath, downed trees, damaged fences, and pool screens were scattered around the neighborhood. Crews in Seminole County hauled enough debris to fill 488 trucks. The county’s public works, roads, and stormwater staff logged 2,253 hours in over nine days cleaning up and clearing a path through the neighborhood.
[BELOW: Surveillance footage shows tornado in Longwood community]
The county said the tornado damaged more than 50 homes and destroyed one home on Blue Iris Place — it collapsed while a couple inside took cover. Thankfully, no one was injured.
“You find their personal belongings from their home scattered everywhere,” said Emily Sless, who first showed our News 6 crew the damage in her neighborhood in 2025.
Behar said she never found parts of her property that blew away. Today, parts of her roof and chimney are still in need of repair.
“For the most part, our neighbors and everybody, they’ve done a phenomenal job of getting back to normalcy. You can see the pool cages are back up,” said Behar as she showed our team her backyard. “Our neighbor over here still doesn’t have his pool cage, but he just completed his roof last week.”
[BELOW: Security camera catches tornado storming through Longwood]
Behar’s fence is gone, along with so many trees that used to line her yard. What’s left behind in Whispering Winds is more open space and the lessons this small Longwood neighborhood has learned.
“It’s still very surreal,” said Behar. “I still look back, and any time it’s really windy, I start to get a little bit of heart palpitations.”
One year later, and Behar’s community is unrecognizable from March 10, 2025. Behar says what happened is still unbelievable.
“It’s very jarring to think about the fact that we were in a tornado, especially an EF-2,” said Behar. “I think it really helped me have a different perspective on life and how short it can be.”