The storm that ripped through Harford County Tuesday afternoon packed a punch, unleashing 40–mph winds and threatening to spawn tornadoes, but ultimately left little real damage.
Harford County's clean-up after the storm was "not so bad," county spokesman Bob Thomas said Wednesday.
"We received a significant amount of rain in a short time which led to localized flooding in several low-lying areas," he said. "Power outages were brief. No long-term power outages were reported to the county Tuesday. Several small trees were uprooted as a result of heavy winds. The road conditions improved throughout the night. No serious injuries were reported."
The Bel Air area got 1.14 inches of rain Tuesday, according to an amateur local weather station.
About 4,000 Harford BGE customers lost power after the brunt of the storm passed through between about 3:45 p.m. and 4:30 p.m.
Thomas said the central part of the county was heavily affected by flooding during the immediate aftermath.
"Portions of [Route] 924 were completely covered with water at least four inches high," Thomas wrote in an e-mail Tuesday afternoon. "Some trees were uprooted in the Bel Air area."
A tornado watch was in effect for most of the day but never turned into a tornado warning, nor were any funnel cloud sightings reported.
By early Tuesday afternoon, Harford County Public Schools had canceled all after-school activities and Harford Community College closed at 4 p.m.
One of the areas that experienced sustained power outages was Campus Hills, including Harford Community College, which is east of Bel Air. From Route 22, the area's main highway, many buildings, including those on campus and in nearby commercial areas, still appeared to be without power mid-Tuesday evening.
Most of the other Harford outages appeared to be in the southern part of the county, around the Route 40 and Kingsville area on the Baltimore County line.
A number of Harford residents also reported downed trees and power outages on their Facebook pages.
