WBAL-TV - Updated: 5:37 PM EDT Jun 6, 2024
SYKESVILLE, Md. —
Some Carroll County residents woke up to damage and homeowners started assessing and cleaning up Thursday after tornado warnings blanketed the area Wednesday night.
Neighbors in Sykesville and Eldersburg came together to help each other with the task after many watched the storm roll in.
"You could just see everything, like all the different type clouds coming together, getting the energy, and then the next thing you know, it just happened, and I told everybody to get downstairs," said Dave Dudek, a Sykesville resident.
"It sounded like a roar, kind of, and then the sky rumbled. I felt like our house shake maybe," said 8-year-old Gavin, Dudek's son.
A lot of trees were uprooted, debris scattered about, and Bartholow Road remained closed until late Thursday afternoon as crews worked to remove downed wires and trees.
"Just destruction," said Andrew Fitzgerald, a Finksburg resident. "It happened just like that. It was very quick."
The Fitzgeralds hurried to the basement with their four kids as the storm closed in.
They suffered tree damage as well, one into their backyard pool. Their home has siding damage, missing shutters, and part of their porch roof is destroyed.
"It seemed like the noise subsided, so I came back up and I couldn't believe what I was looking at," Fitzgerald said.
The family had never seen anything like Wednesday's storm before, but they consider themselves lucky that they heeded the tornado warning and no one was harmed.
"If you get the alert, don't ignore it. It's for a reason, and even if it comes out to be nothing, at least you're safe. Because you don't want to take that chance on your life," Tricia Fitzgerald said.
The National Weather Service will determine whether it was, in fact, a tornado that touched down in Carroll County.