In 89 years, Mary Shaull said she never witnessed havoc like what hit Harford County Monday night.
A tornado touched down near Fallston Middle School before 6:30 p.m. Monday amid a severe thunderstorm, the National Weather Service confirmed Tuesday. The storm split trees in half, ripped down power lines, ignited fires, flooded roads and inundated emergency services with calls.
“It was wild, absolutely wild,” Shaull said. “I mean this truly: I don?t think I?ve ever seen it rain that hard, and I?ve never seen hail that large.”
The storm lasted only about 20 minutes, but police and fire dispatchers received more than 300 emergency calls in one hour.
In at least one instance, the quarter-sized hail and heavy rain kept emergency responders aboard a fire engine from getting to callers, said Rich Gardiner, county fire and emergency medical services spokesman.
It?s rare for a fire engine to get stuck on the side of the road because the driver can?t see outside, he said.
“It was black as ink outside, and then it was pouring,” he said, recalling sitting down for dinner at his home in Bel Air and looking out his window when and his phone and beeper started sounding.
Shaull had been outside when she heard the thunder. “There were two claps of thunder so close that you could feel it in the soles of your feet, and I said, ?I think I?ll go inside now,?” she said with a laugh.
More than 30 county employees worked through the night to clear debris, and more than 50 worked during the day Tuesday, hoping to open by Tuesday night the 36 county roads forced to close, officials said. In many cases, road crews had to wait for Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. to clear power lines, said Bob Thomas, spokesman for County Executive David Craig, who toured the affected areas Tuesday morning.
“It was evident a storm of significant force came through,” Thomas said
About 840 Harford and 254 Baltimore City residents remained without power Tuesday afternoon, according to BGE. Most were expected to have power restored Tuesday, said Linda Foy, a BGE spokeswoman.
No one suffered injuries.
