CHEEKTOWAGA - A tornado touched down in this Buffalo suburb Friday, damaging trees and roofs and flipping a construction trailer on its side with a worker inside. No serious injuries were reported.

The National Weather Service confirmed that a tornado had touched down in the area. The first to strike Cheektowaga in 19 years, the funnel cloud left a path that was 3 miles long and 100 yards wide, said Steve McLaughlin, a meteorologist with the weather service.

Amid hail and heavy rains, tornado winds dipped onto the New York State Thruway and witnesses described watching in awe as a tractor-trailer was tossed onto its side.

The National Weather Service determined late Friday that the tornado, which was sighted around 3 p.m., was responsible for the truck accident, McLaughlin said.

“It was very scary, no doubt about it,” said Albert Nigro of Amherst, who said he was driving about one-eighth of a mile behind the westbound truck when he saw what appeared to be a tornado in the sky above.

Seconds later a funnel appeared on the roadway ahead.

“It instantly picked up this tractor-trailer and flipped it on its side and threw it against the middle barrier,” Nigro said.

Cars immediately behind the truck spun out behind it, he said. A shaken witness calling in to a television station said his car was lifted from the Thruway, spun and dropped facing oncoming traffic.

The truck driver received minor injuries.

Off the Thruway nearby, a construction trailer was tossed into a road, slightly injuring a worker inside, police said. The fast-moving storm also ripped off tree limbs, damaged store signs and downed some power lines.

Soon after, the sun was shining again.

AP-ES-06-30-06 2011EDT