Apr 21, 2008 7:41 am US/Eastern
Storms Bring Heavy Rains & Heavy Damages To Md.
BALTIMORE (WJZ/AP) ―
A gusty spring storm blew the roof off an elementary school, suspended the Earth Day Festival and threatened to flood low-lying areas Sunday.
Mary Bubala reports heavy winds tore off part of the roof of the George E. Peters Seventh Day Adventist school. Trailers were turned over in the Hyattsville school's parking lot, said Prince George's County fire department spokesman Mark Brady.
A nearby church also was damaged by debris from the school, but no injuries were reported. Students will not be able to attend the school for at least the next few days, the fire spokesman said.
One administrative employee in the school at the time was able to exit the building safely, fire officials said.
The department issued a press release later Sunday saying one firefighter saw what may have been a tornado.
Shortly before firefighters received a report about damage to the school, firefighter John Crisman Sr. was working at the Chillum fire station about 2:30 p.m. when he felt the air being sucked out of the building.
Once outside, he noticed the flag quickly change from one direction to the other and saw a storm cloud with debris and rotating winds. Officials from the National Weather Service conducted a post-incident survey and will determine the severity of the storm, the release said.
Lightning also caused two fires fires.
In Montgomery County, fire department spokesman Pete Piringer said lightning sparked a fire at a large garage in the Laytonsville area, causing extensive damage to the garage, as well as to motorcycles and lawn mowers inside. One firefighter suffered a minor injury, Piringer said.
In Baltimore County, lightning struck the steeple of the Glyndon United Methodist Church in Butler about 5:20 p.m. The fire was confined to the steeple of the stone church and no one was injured in the fire.
At the Baltimore-Washington International Airport, a plane preparing to land was struck by lightning. BWI spokesman Jonathan Dean said the plane landed safely and there were no injuries.
The airport spokesman said he did not know where the Jetlink aircraft was struck.
In downtown Washington, meanwhile, the Earth Day Festival was suspended at about 4:30 p.m. when rains began to fall, festival organizer Lisa Swann said.
The National Weather Service also issued flood warnings for much of the Washington and Baltimore region, where several inches of rain was expected in some areas Sunday night.
(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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