High Wind Rattles Buildings, Topples Trees And Shuts Off Power
BALTIMORE (WJZ)-- An overnight storm brought sustained winds up to 30 mph and gusts up to 60 mph--rattling buildings, toppling trees and shutting off power.
Derek Valcourt has more on the problems the wind is causing.
A massive toppled walnut tree lays on top of some power lines. Winds took it out around 10 p.m. Wednesday in the backyard of Pat Bell's Westminster home, damaging a nearby power transformer along the way.
"It was leaning against the pole. It actually went and hit the pole. And it was on fire, it had flames coming out of it, sparks," she said.
The damage was mirrored around the state. What started early Wednesday evening not only rattled everything, it literally caused the walls of a Locust Point home being rebuilt after a fire to come tumbling down.
Heavy bricks did plenty of damage as they fell. Luckily, no one was hurt.
Those powerful gusts packed a wallop, snapping branches and even downing a light pole, which then landed on an unlucky parked car near Monument Street.
The bad luck for trees means good business for tree trimming companies, flooded with calls for cleanup.
BGE says massive trees that came toppling down onto their power lines were a problem throughout their coverage area.
With advance notice of the powerful winds, utility companies pre-positioned crews throughout the region for a faster response--a big help to those dealing with the mess they woke up to.
"The power went out abruptly. About two seconds later, I heard a big crack, so I knew it was a tree close by," said Lana Dench, Catonsville. "I got downstairs quickly, because I know with all these huge trees, I was worried during the wind storm they're going to come down."
In all, there were more than 30,000 outages statewide as a result of the winds. Most of them are now restored. Pat Bell is among the last left in the dark.
"We're cold! It's cold in there. No heat," she said.
To track restoration and/or view the BGE power outage map, click here.
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