Winds that experts say were “downdrafts” most likely caused this and other trees along Highland Drive in Summit Township to topple. Linda Schnur was one of those homeowners whose house was damaged.

SUMMIT TWP — A violent storm ripped through a small community along Highland Drive Monday evening, shattering trees and damaging at least one home along the road.

Linda Schnur, 75, of 2149 Highland Drive, was sitting in her living room at about 7 p.m. Monday, when what she assumed was “just another thunderstorm” became something more.

“I believe it was a tornado,” said Schnur, who has lived in her home for about 50 years. “I never saw such forceful (rain) hitting my porch before.”

Schnur heard a crack she initially believed to be a lightning strike, but it turned out to be the trunk of a large tree in her front yard splintering under the force of violent winds.

The tree fell partially onto the home, ripping down part of a gutter and damaging a window. Schnur said she was told that the storm ripped some shingles from her roof. The home is insured and a damage assessment was scheduled for later Tuesday or Wednesday.

The storm, one of several reported Monday evening in Butler County, knocked out power to the small community, which Schnur described as mostly retirees with grown children.

She said power and Internet service were restored by about 6 a.m. Tuesday, but she had already been forced to cancel online classes she teaches to students through a service called Qkids, which connects English speakers with Chinese kids between the ages of 5 and 12.

“I hope I still have a job,” Schnur said.

The storm was so violent that it tossed a tree on Schnur's property across Hesidenz Road and into the driveway of Carle Hesidenz, 79, of 113 Hesidenz Road.

Hesidenz, standing in the driveway Tuesday morning, said he had been up all night removing debris to get his vehicle out of the home's garage and didn't see much of the storm that caused the damage. He was on the phone in his kitchen Monday evening when the lights suddenly went out.

“That's all I know,” he said.

John Darnley, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Pittsburgh, said the organization was not investigating any possible tornados in the region, He said conditions Monday were not right for producing funnel clouds, and that storm damage was likely caused by “downdraft” winds.