Overnight storms rock Montgomery County neighborhoods

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. (DC News Now) — People in a Rockville neighborhood say their evening on Tuesday was interrupted by a loud boom that rang through the air — the sound of lightning striking their neighbor’s home.

Taryn Cowan was looking out the window of his home on Tweed Street, when suddenly he saw a flash of light.

“I saw a big boom on the street and the sparks actually hit the window. Then, I look up and the corner of the house is just smoking,” he said.

Initially, he said he thought it was a firework — until the sound of sirens and firetrucks filled the neighborhood.

Cheryl Peterson was also home at the time of the storm.

“I heard a sonic boom sound,” she said. “It shook this house here and so I immediately came outside, and it was fire on the roof.”

Peterson says Montgomery County Fire and Rescue arrived shortly after.

“And they just immediately started putting out the fire,” she said.

Luckily, no one was hurt. For now, though, officials say the house is unsafe to live in.

Meanwhile, neighbors in Takoma Park were given an early wake-up call on Wednesday morning when a large tree fell near neighbors’ homes. The tree took power lines down with it and blocked Hopewell Avenue.

Giselle Donnelly lives nearby and recounted what happened.

“My wife and I were woken up by the sound of the tree going down and we lost power,” she said.

Donnelly said it raises some concerns.

“You live in a neighborhood like this, you’re worried that a tree is going to come down on your house or something like that,” she said.

Kim Burke also lives near where the tree fell.

“We are lucky because nobody got hurt, or if the house was broken, that would be very bad,” she said.

Crews in Takoma Park worked through the day Wednesday to remove the tree and restore power to people who lost it.