Harford, Cecil Counties Clean Up Damage Done By Possible Tornadoes
JOPPA, Md. (WJZ)— Stormy weather didn't last long Tuesday morning, but it did leave behind some damage in parts of Maryland.
Alex DeMetrick reports parts of Cecil County woke up to a very rough morning.
Nature provided the road blocks near the town of North East in Cecil County.
Some trees twisted apart. Others tore loose at the roots and fell whole.
During the seconds it happened, "It sounded like a freight train. Hail like that. Trees snapping everywhere," said Al Beacher, of Cecil County.
"Patio furniture flew up against the side of the house. Everything in the backyard was everywhere," said Christopher Smith, of Cecil County.
"Hail and [I] really couldn't see because of all the swirling," said Crystal Bryan, of Cecil County.
The storm also packed downpours that produced flash flooding in streams, the rain coming in powerful bands.
"Five-thirty, six o'clock, it came pretty hard, and it came about four or five times," said Rick Truitt, of Cecil County.
The storm seemed to strengthen as it first rolled over Harford County, triggering a warning.
"It was this really dark spot. At first I thought it was actually going to come across. We had a cloud coming this way and one coming this way, and you could see a little bit of a swirl to it," said Shelly Crookshanks, of Harford County. "I'm terrified of tornadoes."
Between Fallston and the Baltimore County line, fallen trees closed Hess Road in a storm that had Harford County on edge.
"We were notified by the National Weather Service at 6 o'clock this morning that we were under a tornado warning," said Rick Ayres, of Harford County Emergency Management.
Photo Gallery: Wild Weather Hits Maryland
"We had a report of a tornado that touched down in the Aberdeen area off of Route 40, but we can't see any significant damage in the area," Ayres said.
In the end, those clouds just twisted away past Harford County.
Thirty minutes later, that warning moved into Cecil County.
"Scary, just trying to get the kids downstairs and get safe. Spinning. Everything was spinning," Smith said.
Power and utility lines came down along Nottingham Road, and there was some minor structural damage.
"Yeah, the roof blew off. We lost a tree over here and a bunch of trees in the back, but it could have been a whole lot worse," said Susan Chaoui, of Cecil County.
"Looks like everyone got lucky. Just trees," Beacher said.
People in that Cecil County neighborhood are convinced a tornado did the damage. The National Weather Service has yet to confirm that.
