Tornado Touches Down In Salisbury Amid Major Storm Damage
SALISBURY, Md.(WJZ) -- The National Weather Service says an EF-1 tornado touched down in Salisbury after strong winds and heavy rain struck the eastern shore.
Incredibly powerful winds turned a Salisbury building into a pile of rubble and metal.
On social media and video shows cars being lifted off the ground.
It shows the powerful storm as it moved through Salisbury just before 2 p.m. Monday afternoon.
Witnesses report a rotation. Salisbury University's tornado warning could be heard going off. The bulk of the damage was right next to the campus.
"He was in the car over there," says one witness.
In the storm's wake, cars were stacked like toys on top of each other at a strip mall. They were lifted up, some with people inside.
"The wind picked up. We felt the glass shattering on the building. The awnings were almost ready to lift," says Melissa Cullen.
Surveillance camera footage from Hoppers Tap House in Salisbury shows the moment a Ford got tossed into the air
"Look up, the trees are like almost touching the ground the wind's so strong. And all of a sudden, you know, I was like run to the back," says Rory Payne, who works at a store where wind affected buildings.
"Heard what sounded like a freight train above the store. Sounded like bulls were running across the roof. After that we came outside and everything was destroyed," says another witness.
At least one building collapsed. The strong winds downed trees and damaged cars and homes.
No one was injured and no one was killed.
"It's pretty crazy. It's a weird anomaly for sure. There was no warning," says Lisa Campo from Salisbury.
A tornado Maryland on the eastern shore is rare, but if confirmed it would be the second to strike in two weeks.
"I've been here for 40 years. You always hear about tornados and wonder what it's like to experience it, and we were very fortunate and that no one got hurt and minor damage," says Nick Schlegel, from Salisbury.
The National Weather Service plans to send a team to Salisbury to determine if this was a tornado and how strong those winds were.
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