Officials with the National Weather Service confirmed that an EF-1 tornado briefly touched down near the Elk Mills quarry in Cecil County, Maryland on Friday.
The tornado uprooted and snapped numerous softwood trees just east and north of the quarry near the intersection of Elk Mills Road, Appleton Road, and Fletchwood Road.
As the tornado was touching down, parents visiting nearby Downes Elementary School in Newark for an event, along with staff began receiving the Tornado Warning alerts on their phones. As a precaution, students, parents, and staff sheltered in the hallways of the school for approximately forty minutes until the storm passed. The alerts also prompted all three Newark Charter buildings to issue announcements to keep students away from the windows.
The tornado uprooted a few hardwood and softwood trees on some residential properties before it continued east along Fletchwood road passing over some industrial buildings toward the Pine Hill apartment complex in Maryland. Once at the apartment complex, numerous pine trees were uprooted or snapped. The tornado then dissipated as it continued east away from the apartment complex.
Visit this post to see photos of damage left by the storm.
No significant structural damage occurred or injuries were reported as a result of the tornado touching down in Maryland, however, the storm did leave downed trees and utility poles in its wake as it moved across Delaware.
The storm produced heavy rain and winds which caused damage to several buildings and homes across the region. In Delaware, the storm knocked down trees and utility poles which kept firefighter and utility crews busy for much of the day. At one point Delmarva Power estimated that over 6000 customers were without power. A check Saturday morning showed that around 30 customers remain without power in the Greenville and Claymont areas.
In Newark, one homeowner narrowly escaped injury when a large tree snapped and fell on his Brewster Drive home. Although the storm damaged property in all three Delaware counties no serious injuries were reported as a result of the storm.
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[media-credit name=”Tree onto a home in Stanton” align=”aligncenter” width=”800″]
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