Storm cleanup continues after homes damaged, dozens of trees knocked down in Damascus

DAMASCUS, Md. - Homeowners in Damascus are cleaning up after severe storms on Wednesday brought heavy winds causing lots of damage to their homes.

Thankfully, no one was injured, but the weather uprooted and knocked down dozens of trees, bent road signs and fences, and even tore off at least one roof.

The National Weather Service confirmed this was not a tornado, but they called this kind of weather "straight line winds" - skimming just above the ground and taking out anything in its path.

Luis Borja was home when he first heard something coming. He looked out the window of his second-floor bedroom.

"I just saw like a wall [of clouds] come through, and as soon as I saw the wall, I knew and I was like, 'Oh no. I'm going right to the basement,'" he described. "Clouds, rain, heavy rain. It was a weird feeling in the house. I knew it. I went right downstairs."

Borja was lucky. The winds struck with tremendous force next door knocking down a huge tree in his neighbor's yard and tearing a portion of her roof off the house.

"The house was like shaking," he said.

At the rear of the house, you can see the shingles that flew off the roof.

There is a reason why the National Weather Service calls them straight line winds. It is as if a path was cleared along Route 27 as it made its way through Damascus.

By sunrise, tree companies had descended on the area clearing branches and cutting what they could.

Fortunately, the number of badly-damaged homes could be counted on just one hand.