The clear-up operation continues in Martinstown, Co Antrim, today after a mini-tornado tore through the village on Tuesday.
Weather experts have confirmed that the freak storm, which terrified residents and left a trail of destruction, was a tornado.
No one was injured during the meteorological phenomenon that lasted less than five minutes, but roadways, houses and telephone lines were severely damaged when the storm struck at about 7.30 p.m.
Tornadoes are formed before the start of a thunderstorm when a change in wind direction and speed, coupled with a clash of warm moist air and cold air, creates a horizontal spinning effect in the lower atmosphere. Rising air within the thunderstorm pulls the rotating air from horizontal to vertical, forming the tornado.
One eyewitness, Mr Tom Herbison, described what he saw from a farm situated a few miles from the scene.
"There was a heavy cloud front overhead, and the whole edge of the cloud was boiling. Out of the turbulence came a funnel spinning anti-clockwise. It got bigger and bigger and finally came down on to the ground."
Mr Herbison then saw an explosion of debris hurtling into the air. The tornado split into three smaller funnels before it disappeared back into the clouds.
A weather expert in the North, Mr Martin Airey, warned yesterday that although tornadoes were uncommon in this part of the world, their unpredictable nature meant they could happen anywhere.
"They normally come around thundery periods when there has been a warm spell followed by a build-up of low pressure," he said.