Harrowing Tales From the Storm

Kristina Howard was asleep at around 1:45 a.m. when a burst of wind shattered her bedroom window.

"I woke up with glass in my bed," said Howard, 29, a resident of the Dutch Village Apartments on Perring Manor Road. "I'm still in shock."

The apartment complex which straddles the city and county line was hit hard by the storm. Many residents, including Howard, were evacuated due to the damage. Evacuees were headed to Mt. Pleasant Ice Arena on Hillen Road, which was closed to the public due to the storm.

Howard said firefighters knocked on her door at 7:30 a.m. and told her she had to pack for a two to three days. She was carrying a blue duffle bag and a purse, but she had to leave her two cats in the apartment.

Howard, who has lived in the apartments for eight years, said she saw the roof turn off of two nearby apartment buildings. She said she also saw siding ripped from a number of buildings.

India Rice, 35, who lives in a townhouse across the street from the Dutch Village apartments on Fernbank Avenue, said a 45 year old oak tree snapped in half in her front yard, cracking the windshield of the family truck. 

"This is devastating," Rice said. "Whatever it was last night was horrific."

Between 2 and 3 a.m. she said she "heard the wind. I saw the rain. An hour later I saw the tree bow and power lines start sparking."

Power is out throughout the block, as it is for some 16,000 people in Baltimore and Anne Arundel counties and the city.

On Wycliffe Road, near Perring Parkway, several homes lost shingles while others had extensive damage. Trees are down in backyards and have fallen on cars. 

Dawn Wagner, 45, and Rebecca Holter, 36, have lived at 1730 Wycliffe Road for over six years. Dawn had just returned home from her shift at Morton's Steakhouse early Wednesday morning when the severe weather struck.

"Driving home I had turned my windshield wipers off," she said.  "It wasn't even drizzling."  As soon as she was settled into bed, the weather suddenly changed. 

"The whole house was shaking," she said.  "I grabbed my son and hid in the closet; I knew something wasn't right."

It was over just as fast as it began, according to Holter, who was also home at the time. 

"The whole thing felt like it lasted about 3 minutes," she said.  "The power went out, the neighbors were out at 2 in the morning checking out the damage." 

According to both residents, their electricity came back on after about 20 minutes. It was much easier to see the damage in the morning—an enormous tree was uprooted in the back yard, garbage was strewn about by high winds, the fence was broken in several places, and the gate to the back yard was torn off its hinges.

"The craziest thing is—you see that sign up there?" said Holter, gesturing to a piece of yellow sign lodged in a power converter.  "These pieces here are part of that sign, we've been trying to piece it together and figure out where it came from; we're pretty sure it's from the wireless store across Perring Parkway."