2 Miles Long, 95MPH Winds: Tornado Touches Down In Northern Baltimore County

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- People were busy using heavy equipment to clean up downed trees in Jacksonville and Phoenix Friday where an EF-1 tornado touched down the night before.

That tornado had a path 2 miles long and 120 yards wide and was on the ground for 2 miles for over 4 minutes. It touched down at 4:51 p.m. Thursday.

Dorothea Chiumulera ran for cover in her house on Overshot Court.

"High winds, thunder, lightning, heavy rain," Chimulera told WJZ Investigator Mike Hellgren. She said it sounded like a vacuum. Across the street from her home, trees were sliced in half. "It was a blur outside. You couldn't really see. I slammed the door and I went to the basement."

A tree crashed through one home on Robcaste Road in Phoenix, narrowly missing the people inside. The owner told WJZ it was a miracle there were no injuries.

"We were inside of the front door with the front door open, and we saw it come down to the top of the trees. One of the trees came down on top of the roof. I turned around, and my wife was covered in insulation and drywall on the steps. She almost got killed," the homeowner said. He declined to provide his full name.

"The wind picked up, the rain picked up. There was a time looking out the door and window of our house when you couldn't see the woods because the rain was coming down so hard," said his neighbor Glenn Kukucka.

Chopper 13 showed the damage from above: Trees sheared and thrown to the ground like matchsticks and a home that suffered minor damage when a large tree came just inches from smashing through the main part of the house.

The National Weather Service team was on the ground to survey damage early Friday morning before making its determination.

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In:
• Baltimore County