GAITHERSBURG, Md. β Several homes were damaged in Wednesday night's storms.
Thursday night, the National Weather Service confirmed that seven tornadoes made landfall across the region on Wednesday, but say that number could rise in the days ahead as they evaluate more information.
They were believed to have been EF-0 or EF-1, which is considered minor on the Enhanced Fujita scale.
"It was terrifying like the whole thing. I can't describe it. It was just something you would never think would happen," said Veronica Contreras Fuentes. She, her husband Samir and their two young children live along Tulip Drive in Gaithersburg.
They were inside their home Wednesday night, when they started getting alerts that there was a tornado warning for their area.
"One minute it was all fine and the next minute my parents were texting me 'are you okay?' and I'm like 'no, I'm not okay'," explained Contreras Fuentes.
Her husband told WUSA9 he was shocked by what he saw when he looked out the window of their home.
"I was seeing one of our trees in our backyard just swaying and it's a big tree with a big trunk and it was just swaying like a toy," said Fuentes.
"Next thing I know, the whole house is shaking and the ground is shaking," said his wife.
They grabbed their two young children, a 5-year-old and a 3-month-old, their pets and tried to hide in the safest place they could find.
"It was just sparks flying and just wind. It sounded like we were next to a freight train. it was so loud and so scary," said Contreras Fuentes.
In seconds, it was over, but they quickly discovered a massive hole in their kitchen roof.
"It fell all the way over here and it just shattered and poked a massive hole," said Fuentes.
Thursday night, they told WUSA9 they were just grateful things weren't worse.
"We're just blessed and thankful that we're all alive. Material things we can get new things. It's just our lives we're blessed," they said.
They say they're especially grateful to their neighbors, many who were also dealing with their own storm damage.
"I was crying in the street and my neighbors took me in and helped me take care of her," said Contreras Fuentes.
"Everyone came together to show support and offered us a place to stay," said Fuentes.
"They always say tragedy brings community together and that's really what happened yesterday, but I wouldn't wish this on anybody," said his wife.
There is now a GoFundMe page set up for the family to help with expenses and repairs.
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