. >> reporter: early sunday was a morning when dennis starr was convinced he'd soon be burying this daughternd two grandchildren. >> i was expecting some deaths. i thought i lost my grandchildren to be quite honest with you. i thought my grandson was dead. >> reporter: starr lives down the road from this, his daughter's home leveled by an uprooted tree. police say at about 1:00 sunday morning wind gusts upwards of 50 miles an hour toppled that aging tree, somehow its trunk and branches just missing the family of four. >> it just missed his bed by inches. my granddaughter was in my daughter's arm. she was trapped. she had all the rubble from the ceiling on top of her. >> reporter: and back in philadelphia, another example of these extreme winds. take a look, this time a tree splits right in the middle lands on top of this apartment complex. nobody hurt but another scare. east falls resident ida hopes it's a day she doesn't need to leave the car. >> it's terrible. it's a terrible wind. >>> contractor jay buck is working it. he says it's day you don't want to mess with. >> stay home. >> reporte