The worst of the damage from the storm seems to be centered in Montgomery County.
That includes a house struck by lightning and destroyed by flames in Gaithersburg, Md.
Fortunately only one of the people who lives here was home when this house was hit by lightning around 6 p.m. and she got out OK.
The house is likely a total loss, the most dramatic impact seen from Wednesday’s storm.
Lightning carved a scar in this tree in Bethesda as the storm passed through Montgomery county, the same strike knocking down power lines that sizzled in the street.
In Potomac, a much larger tree fared no better in the wind, blocking Boswell street until the chainsaws could remove it.
But the worst of the storm’s damage came from a single lightning strike on the roof of a home in Gaithersburg.
Firefighters arrived quickly, but the flames on the roof moved faster.
Neighbors described a dramatic scene: flames shooting from the roof even as heavy rain pounded down.
One woman inside made it safely to a neighbor’s house. Her home, now a charred shell.
Montgomery County sent about 75 firefighters here to get these flames out tonight under challenging conditions.
No firefighters were hurt in the effort, either.
