Recovery efforts underway in Montgomery County, Md. following reported tornado

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. (7News) — In the wake of two reported tornadoes that struck Montgomery County on Wednesday evening, county officials are now focused on recovery efforts.

The storm tracked from Poolesville to Germantown and Gaithersburg, continuing eastward to the Olney-Brookeville area.

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"We got incredibly lucky in Montgomery County with two different tornadoes coming during the peak of evening rush hour and when people are home having dinner in their homes. We were just very fortunate that the damage in Montgomery County was not substantially worse," said Earl Stoddard, Montgomery County's Assistant Chief Administrative Officer.

While the National Weather Service has not officially confirmed the tornado touched down near Poolesville, videos shared across social media and with 7News show funnel clouds. Thursday morning, Stoddard confirmed that the county was struck by two different tornadoes.

According to a National Weather Service official on Thursday, preliminary data showed winds reached up to 105 miles per hour, indicating that a tornado likely would have been an EF1. They are still working to determine whether the tornados will be classified as EF0 or EF1, officials said.

There's been no indication of an uptick in Tornadoes within the region based on data from the past 20 years, officials said; still, Wednesday's storms stood out as a rarity in the region, with multiple tornados touching down within a single storm.

"I think this is probably one of the top two or three events from a tornado standpoint that I've experienced here," said James Lee, the meteorologist-in-charge at the National Weather Service Baltimore/Washington Office.

Five people were injured, and at least five homes were damaged Wednesday night in the Gaithersburg area, according to fire and rescue officials.

The focus for the rest of Thursday is on cleanup efforts. Officials said this includes reopening the few roadways still closed, clearing out downed wires and trees, and assisting families whose homes were severely damaged.

"There are a number of crews out this morning doing work removing trees from roadways and from power lines as well. So that work will continue," Stoddard said.

Stoddard said the Department of Health and Human Services and the American Red Cross are working to provide displaced residents with support.

In Poolesville, a cornfield on Tudor Farm along White’s Ferry Road seems to be the exact spot where the tornado first touched down. The twister then made a turn toward Milton Andrews’ home.

“It got pretty loud, we went in the safe room,” Andrews said.

Outside of his home, trees broke and fell.

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“I did not hear any of the trees snapping because when you’re in that safe room, you can’t hear anything,” Andrews said. “It wasn't until I came outside that I saw the extent of the damage.”

Andrews estimated that 40 trees are down, along with sections of the horse pasture fencing.

The tornado then moved east, touching down along Route 28 where the Honey Acres Horse Rescue Farm took a direct hit.

Farm owner Jason Hebeisen said dozens of trees fell, but the horses and people were not injured.

“We got plenty of warning, phones were blowing up,” Hebeisen said.

Between downed trees and powerlines, it’s going to be a while before several impacted families get back to normal.

Crews have been busy all day, and there’s still more work to be done.

Several residents who spoke with 7News Wednesday were just thankful that they’re okay.