film The Road were shot at Presque Isle in April 2008, with Beach 10 used as a seashore. A weak tornado touched down in the state park on June 27, 2010. Rated EF0 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale, it downed power lines and trees near the Stull Interpretive Center, and also damaged a nearby observation platform. Presque Isle was closed on June 28 to facilitate clean-up of the debris and reopened the next morning. During Hurricane Sandy in October 2012, parts and remnants of the storm reached Presque Isle. The park was closed in preparation of the storm and waves reaching 14–18 feet were anticipated, along with high winds. The storm was expected to be severe, but luckily was not. Only 8-foot waves were recorded and not as high of winds either. The park made it out with only minor flooding, a few downed trees, and the loss of power at the park marina. Geology and climate Presque Isle is a recurved sand spit that formed during the last glacial period, or ice age, when the Laurentide Ice Sheet advanced into the basin now occupied by Lake Erie, and, when it retreated to the north between 12,370 BC and 12,790 BC, left behind a moraine consisting of clay, sand, and gravel that initially formed the Presque Isle peninsula. The deposits are constantly being re-worked by wave action and are gradually migrating to the northeast due to longshore drift. The French term presqu'île, the origin of the park's name, means "peninsula", or, literally, "almost an island". Despite the name, Presque Isle has been an island for brief periods of time after it has been cut off from the mainland several times since 1819—the longest stretch was from 1832 to 1864. In the 1950s, in an effort to combat erosion, the state and federal governments built sets of concrete seawalls and perpendicular groins. In 1992, a series of 58 breakwaters were also constructed to help capture sand and significantly slowed its movement eastward. Even with the substantial engineering projects, sand has to be relocated from tombolos that form behind the breakwaters, and new sand has to be brought in annually to replenish the beaches. Presque Isle protects the natural Presque Isle Bay, which creates a deep and wide harbor for the city of Erie. The bay is often filled with pleasure craft as well as cargo ships from all over the world