Ernie Kuhs cleans up branches from a downed tree on his property along Rowan Road in Cranberry Township in June 2015.

CRANBERRY TWP — One year after a tornado touched down in the township, there is little evidence of the damage it caused.

But some residents who lived through the twister still remember weathering the storm in their basements and emerging to find their yards in disarray.

The tornado, classified as an EF0 by the National Weather Service in Pittsburgh, touched down in the area of Chaparral Drive at 5:06 p.m. June 27 and continued north toward North Boundary Park.

The weak tornado had a maximum width of 300 yards and traveled for about 1.5 miles at speeds of 60 to 70 mph, according to the Weather Service.

No one was injured, but the tornado caused damage to a few houses, and it uprooted and damaged numerous trees in its path.

Christine Faucett, who lives on Springfield Drive in the Franklin Ridge housing plan with her husband, Steve, said they lost one tree. Several others were uprooted, but they were able to replant them.

They were home when the tornado hit and the most memorable aspect was the noise, Faucett said.

“We could hear the sound. It was a little like a train, and my husband said immediately, 'let's go to the basement,'” she said.

Nearby on Bon Aire Court, the Salunkhe family lost three trees in their front yard. The wind was so strong it didn't uproot the trees, it snapped them in half, said Ashwini Salunkhe.

This spring they replaced the trees with three new ones.

She said the family retreated to the basement after she got a weather alert on her phone. Her daughter was the last one to get to the basement, and she saw the trees being blown down.

“We were surprised to hear that happening. It was shocking,” she said.

A couple houses on Rowan Road suffered minor damage from fallen trees, but they have since been fixed.

Greg Flinn said a large maple tree in his front yard fell toward his house, taking down electrical lines and causing minor damage to a gutter.

The storm was brief, he said. “It was a real quick thing. It was over before we knew anything was going on,” he said.

Flinn, an electrical engineer, was able to reattach the power lines to his house and do all the necessary repairs on his own. They were only without power for about eight hours.

Carol Flinn said they were thankful for neighbors and several Home Depot employees who pitched in and helped them clear the fallen tree.

But the tornado was not the first severe weather the couple had experienced. An earlier downburst took out another large maple tree in their yard, and a hail storm four years ago damaged a pickup truck, she said.

The Flinns' next-door neighbor Ernie Kuhs had several large trees fall on his property, damaging his house and garage.

Kuhs said the house had structural damage and it needed a new roof. The total damage was about $30,000, which was covered by his homeowners' insurance.

Jeff Schueler, township director of public safety, said that even though tornados are rare for the region, the damage was relatively minor. Numerous trees were uprooted because the ground was already saturated with water before the storm.

In some cases, roads were briefly closed, but the mess was mostly cleaned up in a couple days. Fortunately, the storm was localized to a small part of the township, meaning most residents were not affected at all.“Public works came out to help, but a lot of the work was done by neighbors helping each other, which is what a community should be: people helping each other,” Schueler said.He said that many residents received a tornado warning that night from the weather service either through their cellphones or from watching television or listening to the radio.The township offers traffic and other mobile alerts to residents. They are free to sign up on the township's website.The response from the township police and fire departments for the tornado was similar to any severe weather event, although they do prepare for less common emergencies.“We've always tried to prepare for all hazards, not one specific event, but we do have checklists for specific things like tornados, weather events or hazardous material events,” Schueler said.In the event of another tornado the recommended action to take is to retreat to a basement or take cover in a bathtub or secure area away from windows.Schueler said officials also recommend that people plan for emergencies, such as floods, blizzards or power outages, by storing at least three days' worth of food and water in their homes.Two years ago officials had to deal with a storm that left behind even more destruction and required about 150 township and utility company workers to clean up.On June 23, 2014, 85 mph winds took down numerous utility poles on Route 228, forcing the road to be closed including the intersection with Route 19 and the on and off ramps for Interstate 79.“That had more of an impact on the township. 228 was shut down for two days,” Schueler said.

Kuhs' front yard now after the trees were removed.