CUMBERLAND — Saturday night’s storm that caused widespread damage in the tri-state area resulted from straight line winds that suddenly erupted, according to the National Weather Service.
Allegany County Department of Emergency Services Acting Director Roger Bennett, Emergency Management Chief Carrie Hughes and Mount Savage Volunteer Fire Department Chief Matt Wolfe accompanied National Weather Service officials Chris Strong and Kevin Rodriguez on a storm damage assessment tour Monday in Allegany and Garrett counties.
“After completing an assessment of both Garrett and Allegany counties, the overview shows 80-plus mph straight west to east winds in Garrett County and 70-plus mph straight west to east winds in Allegany County. The overview is based on the type and degree of storm damage viewed,” said Bennett.
The storm hit the region at about 9:30 p.m. Saturday and moved along the northern sector of the county, leaving thousands without electrical service in the region.
The storm reportedly erupted without any official warnings from the National Weather Service and the Federal Emergency Management Administration’s national alerting system, according to Bennett. Unofficial weather apps reportedly alerted 911 dispatchers to the storm about 10 minutes before it impacted the region.
The Allegany County 911 emergency center logged 233 calls to its 911 emergency lines during the storm along with more than 300 administrative calls.
The calls included 81 for trees down and 35 for downed utility poles and lines.
The calls included a report of three people trapped in a camper at Green Ridge Forest Drive in Orleans; a person struck by a tree at a Green Ridge State Forest campsite who was later flown by Maryland State Police Trooper 5 helicopter to Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, and a report of a roof blown off a business on Greene Street in Cumberland, which turned out to be a storage building.
There were also reports of property damage in Garrett County, including to the salt dome of the State Highway Administration complex at Keysers Ridge.