County ‘had no forewarning’ about severity of tornadic storm, official says

Six suffer minor injuries, eight people displaced during likely tornado strikes

June 6, 2024 3:41 p.m.

Montgomery County officials reported Thursday morning that six people suffered minor injuries, but no one was killed when at least two likely tornadoes ripped through Montgomery County on Wednesday night.

At least eight people were displaced from their homes by the thunderstorm, according to Earl Stoddard, the county’s assistant chief adminstrative officer. Stoddard said during a press briefing Thursday that one home had a collapsed roof and two others had trees fall in, displacing residents and requiring first responders to rescue them from their homes.

“We had no forewarning whatsoever that the storm was coming, so a lot of people are wondering why we weren’t under a tornado watch,” said Luke Hodgson, director of the county’s Office of Emergency Management & Homeland Security. “Overall, we were very lucky, given the fact that we had no warning for this. People responded very well to the warnings that they received.”

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The likely tornadoes first touched down in Poolesville before moving through Germantown, Gaithersburg and Olney, according to authorities.

Stoddard said six people were transported to the hospital for assessment, but all were released with minor injuries.

County Chief Administrative Officer Rich Madaleno said during Thursday’s press briefing that the National Weather Service is trying to confirm that there were tornadoes in the county, as well as the type of tornadoes.

“We saw it clearly, the pictures demonstrate that—boy, if the tornadoes didn’t hit the ground, they came very close to it,” Madaleno said.


Madeleno said at least five trees struck homes, 10 downed powerlines and nearly 1,000 power outages were reported Wednesday night.

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Madaleno said the county is working with the Red Cross as well as Gaithersburg city officials to help residents in the most impacted neighborhoods.

“We have emergency response vehicles filled with bottled water, snacks and breakfast kits. We’ll also be deploying a trailer with cleanup kits for families to help with the work that they have to do in their yards and their homes to deal with the aftermath,” Madaleno said.

James Bridgers, director of Montgomery County Health and Human Services, encouraged anyone who needs mental health support as a result of the event to call the behavioral health and crisis services hotline. The number is 240-777-4000

He said the department is also working to aid in family reunification efforts.

According to Hodgson, a meteorology specialist alerted the emergency management office upon seeing the storm pop up in Northern Virginia and was concerned about its potential volatility. This enabled the office to send out targeted emergency alerts to residents.

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Hodgson said the alert was targeted to be received by people in a specific geolocation impacted by the storm. He encouraged residents who didn’t receive the alert but believe they live in an area where they should have received it to contact the Office of Emergency Management & Homeland Security.

“There was nothing that was leading us to believe that we were going to get anything other than perhaps some flooding later in the day, certainly nothing that was tornadic or cyclonic in nature. So there are these times that you simply do not get any more warning,” Hodgson said. “I think we need to approach our weather during the summer when we have high humidity and these drastic heat indices, that we understand that that makes for a very volatile environment in terms of weather.”

He encouraged residents to visit the office’s website for information on making a storm emergency kit and plan.

“It’s very important that you sign up for those alerts. It’s very important that you heed those warnings. It’s very important that you take it on as your personal responsibility to prepare for these types of storms,” Hodgson said. “They can and do happen and we’re moving into a very stormy season right now.”

Madaleno said that Gov. Wes Moore’s administration and the Maryland Highway Administration were in communication with the County Executive Marc Elrich’s office throughout the night. He said more than 170 Montgomery County and Maryland Department of Transportation officials were out responding to the damage on Wednesday night, and 100 are still out today.

“There’s more work to be done today to fix downed wires and certainly trees and damage,” Madaleno said.

He encouraged residents to avoid downed wires and report them safely to the utility company or to the non-emergency police line.

“Unless, of course, you see a wire that is sparking or causing a fire or bouncing and there’s clear damage, then please call 911 at that point,” Madaleno said. “Always assume a downed wire is energized and dangerous. Don’t play with them.”

Stoddard said that those impacted by the storm are invited to attend a Zoom information call with the Maryland Insurance Administration from 1 to 2 p.m. or 6 to 7 p.m. on June 11. Registration is not required, but participants must use this link.

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