Storms wreak havoc in Montgomery County

 MONTGOMERY COUNTY – A couple rounds of heavy thunderstorms resulted in a couple damaged cars and residences and several downed trees, but no serious injuries in Montgomery County. 

According to the National Weather Service, Tuesday’s storms produced about 3 inches of rain in Red Oak and wind gusts measured up to 50 miles per hour. 

Those high winds resulted in the activation of the emergency sirens in several communities and the activation of emergency protocols at Montgomery County Memorial Hospital. 

Montgomery County Auditor Stephanie Burke said when the emergency sirens were sounded, she closed the seven polling places, allowing election workers to seek shelter. The polls reopened about  15 minutes later. 

While lightning strikes and accompanying power outages were minimal in Montgomery County, the high winds did wreak havoc with trees. A few large maples landed and severely damaged parked cars, and a few houses also received minor damage as well. 

Dorothy Nuckolls, who lives in the 600 block of Washington Street, looked out the window just as her neighbor’s tree started to fall.

“I looked out the window and thought that was a big gust of wind,” she said. “Then all of a sudden, I saw the tree coming down in slow motion. I had seen trees chopped and cut down before, but I had never seen one just blow over. I guess it was a big wind gust.”

A trailer house in nearby Emerson was completely destroyed by a large tree that landed in the middle of the structure. No one was in the residence, located at 201 Oakwood, at the time. 

While Tuesday’s storms ended early Wednesday with anywhere from 3-5 inches of rain officially measured throughout the county, it wasn’t the only wet weather of the week. With nearly an inch of rain Sunday and another 1.45 inches of rain on Saturday, Red Oak has already received 5.57 inches of precipitation in June. In just one week, the precipitation totals have already exceeded the average amount for the month of 5.1 inches. 

June is the third consecutive month Montgomery County exceeded average precipitation amounts. In May, total rainfall measured 4.29 inches compared to an average of 4.09 inches while April’s total of 3.37 inches narrowly exceeded an average of 3.32. 

With rain falling in Montgomery County Monday, more precipation is forecasted for the remainder of the week, including a chance for rain everyday but Friday. The best chance for severe weather is Saturday night when thunderstorms are likely.