Residents of Revere  near Boston didn't know what hit them when the wind suddenly picked up, blowing roofs off houses and uprooting large trees and smashing them on front doors and into cars parked in driveways early Monday morning.

It was hours later that the U.S. National Weather Services was able to confirm that an EF2 tornado had landed on the town.

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People in the town didn't get any warning, and the NWS itself was perplexed this could happen. The National Weather Service's office in Massachusetts said later it was the first tornado to strike Suffolk County since 1950, when the agency began keeping records on them.

Officials in Revere said there were several people who suffered minor injuries, but luckily no serious ones. A baby was hurt by flying glass when a tree fell on the car the baby was in.

An elderly woman also suffered minor cuts.

By late afternoon, local officials counted 2,800 homes without power, 65 buildings damaged, 13 of them totally wrecked.

Revere fire chief Gene Doherty said it was fortunate that most people had already left for work when the freak tornado hit the town. Otherwise, there could have been more injuries.

The twister, whipping winds from 100 to 120 mph, lasted from 9:32 to 9:36 a.m. and left a swath of damage a mile wide and about two miles long through Revere and neighboring Chelsea.

The tornado did drop to an EF1, but in the areas with severe damage it was EF2 on the Fujita scale.

Revere Mayor Dan Rizzo says it was a miracle that no one sustained serious injuries.

 "Nobody has ever seen damage like what we experienced this morning," he added.

City hall may have to remain closed for a few more days due to severe damage. People who lost their homes are temporarily housed at the Rumney Marsh Academy. 

TagsRevere, Massachussets