Confirmed tornadoes caused damage, knocked down trees during Maryland storms

BALTIMORE -- Several confirmed tornadoes left destruction during Wednesday's storms across Maryland.

The National Weather Service confirmed that EF-1 tornadoes struck communities in Columbia, Arbutus and Middle River. An EF-0 tornado was confirmed in Eldersburg.

An EF-1 tornado was also confirmed in Poolesville, in Montgomery County.  

These powerful storms damaged homes and property, knocked down trees and left residents without power.

The National Weather Service issued 22 tornado warnings on Wednesday - the fourth most in one calendar day.  

The tornadoes peaked at 105 mph from 7 p.m. through 8:30 p.m.

Overall, from Wednesday's storms, there were seven confirmed tornadoes, with five in Maryland. 

Where did the tornadoes strike?

An EF-1 tornado went from Poolesville, Maryland, and ended in Gaithersburg, traveling 12 miles with wind gusts of 105 mph.

Five people were injured after they were trapped in a house under a collapsed tree.

The tornado touched down in Darnestown, and knocked down trees, causing the overnight closure of Darnestown Road. It continued into Gaithersburg near the high school along Desellum Avenue and moved toward Old Town Gaithersburg.

That EF-1 tornado continued into the Long Reach Village and High Tor Hill in Columbia. The path continued for 1 mile with peak wind gusts of 95 mph.

Another EF-1 tornado caused damage in Arbutus, in southern Baltimore County.

Residents reported a touchdown in the area of the I-95 and I-195 interchange. The tornado moved along Selford Road and Deer Run County to Friendship Road to Francis Avenue and Ingate Terrace.

The tornado traveled 2.4 miles into Halethorpe with maximum wind gusts up to 105 mph.

Damage was reported in Halethorpe in the area of Commerce Drive, Washington Boulevard and Lansdowne Road. 

NWS confirmed an EF-1 tornado in Middle River, in southeast Baltimore County. This tornado had peak wind gusts of 105 mph and traveled .2 miles.

Damage was surveyed along Roundup Road and Cowhide Circle.

An EF-0 tornado spread 4.4 miles with peak wind gusts of 85 mph in Carroll County.

The tornado touched down along Tanglewood Drive and Covington Court in Eldersburg, and continued along to Bartholow Drive and Sarah Court. Four homes reported damage.

The tornado came to an end near Gamber.

How much damage did the storms cause?

Five people were trapped after a tree fell onto a home in Gaithersburg. Four of them were taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, while another was transported to a trauma center, according to a Montgomery County Fire and Rescue spokesperson.

Emergency crews responded to at least four incidents involving trees falling on homes and trapping people inside.

A tree fell on a house on Peony Drive in Gaithersburg, but no injuries were reported. Another tree fell on a house in the 100 block of Winnie Place. One person was rescued from a home at 3 Holly Drive.

The National Weather Service confirmed a tornado in Poolesville, Montgomery County.

In Carroll County, a tornado was confirmed near Bartholow Road and Sarah Drive.

The winds threw trees in the backyard of one resident to the ground and whipped siding and roof panels off the home. 

Another home nearby had a trampoline on its roof, and power was out for the majority of the day on Thursday. This community runs on a septic system, so most of them had no water as well.

 "Everything's beautiful one minute," a Carroll County resident said. "And then this is total devastation."

Over in Columbia, in Howard County, a community lost power and sustained some damage off of High Tor Hill.

Residents told WJZ the tornado was "wild."

"I lived in Hollywood, Florida, for five years. There always was a threat of a hurricane, nothing ever happened," a resident said. "Moved here from Nashville, there were tornado warnings all the time, but never touched near me. So, to have it happen here is pretty wild."

In Abingdon, Maryland, Harford County, streets were flooded, and several people had to be rescued from their vehicles due to significant water rise.

A video sent to WJZ by a viewer shows Kensington Parkway in the Box Hill North community underwater.

"This was the worst I've ever seen it," Mary Lloyd said.

Harford County leaders said no injuries were reported, but they did have 150 calls for service during the peak of the storm.

A tornado uprooted trees and knocked out power in Arbutus, leaving residents to clean up the mess left behind.

"All of a sudden there was a kaboom," Arbutus resident Terence Teeters said. "And the lights went out."

"The trees had fallen down in the same direction," added Arbutus resident Erin Branham.

Branham captured video of a tornado rotating in the air in Southwest Baltimore County.

Middle River neighbors woke up to devastation Thursday after an intense tornado barreled through and damaged homes.  

Debra Small has lived in her Williams Estates neighborhood home for 11 years. She said the storm Wednesday night traumatized her.

"Never have I experienced that," she said. "Never do I want to go through that again. It was quick. But it was violent."