Severe thunderstorms tore through the Morgantown area Sunday evening at around 7:30 p.m. causing power outages and damage to area homes.
Residents along Darst Street and Richwood Avenue and the surrounding area in Sabraton saw a great deal of damage after what some believed to be a microburst or small tornado swept through the area.
Driving through the Jerome Park neighborhood, it was clear something happened – large branches could be seen strewn throughout otherwise well-groomed yards, several large trees were broken in half and at least one was completely uprooted. A porch was even torn off one Richwood Avenue home.
Residents said they lost power for several hours due to the storm – some said power was restored around 2:30 a.m. Monday while others waited into Monday afternoon.
“The storm came up and we couldn’t see nothing,” said Larry Romito, who had branches and other debris strewn around his home. “Then two minutes later it was all laying there. It even tore up my sunflowers – but what are you gonna do?”
While the physical evidence is there, meteorologists from both Accuweather and the National Weather Service said they cannot confirm whether the damage was caused by a microburst or tornado or if it was just high winds.
“Nothing has been confirmed either way,” said Accuweather Senior Meteorologist Tom Kines. “Odds are it was just a microburst associated with the thunderstorm. Having said that, it’s not a 0% chance it was a tornado, but odds are it was a microburst.”
Kines said a microburst is straight line wind damage, unlike the rotational wind of a tornado, but “it can cause just as much damage as a tornado.”
Whatever the official cause may be, residents are thankful no one was hurt and have started the clean up.
Public Works crews were working throughout the area Sunday night and Monday cutting branches hanging from trees and removing debris laying in roadways.
“Ain’t nothing you can do about it – it’s there,” Romito said. “Now it’s just cleaning up the mess. I got the rest of the summer to clean it up – I look at it as firewood.”
National Weather Service Meteorologist David Shallenberger said the area might see a few isolated storms on Tuesday, but the forecast for Wednesday and Thursday looks dry.
Shallenberger said they are starting to see a weak system that should be moving through Friday, so there will be another chance of rain over the weekend.
