Damage in Dorchester County from a hailstorm with strong winds on Monday, May 16, 2022.
Janet Gillespie pulls back a plastic cover to show the damage to her car done by hail.
Monday's storm dropped nearly golf ball sized hail in Reids Grove.
Damage in Dorchester County from a hailstorm with strong winds on Monday, May 16, 2022.
A man surveys the roof of his aunt’s home for damage.
Damage in Dorchester County from a hailstorm with strong winds on Monday, May 16, 2022.
Damage in Dorchester County from a hailstorm with strong winds on Monday, May 16, 2022.
Damage in Dorchester County from a hailstorm with strong winds on Monday, May 16, 2022.
Damage in Dorchester County from a hailstorm with strong winds on Monday, May 16, 2022.
Damage in Dorchester County from a hailstorm with strong winds on Monday, May 16, 2022.
In many instances hail pierced through siding and exterior sheathing.
CAMBRIDGE — Large hail and strong winds did extensive damage Monday as a brief but powerful storm passed through Dorchester County.
A thunderstorm accompanied in places by high wind and large hail swept across the county beginning at about 6 p.m., moving from east to west and causing extensive property damage to structures and vehicles.
Particularly hard hit was an area of in the Linkwood area just south of U.S. Route 50. Homes in the Chateau Drive and Beaver Neck Village area where hail driven by wind shattered windows, punched through the vinyl siding of houses, and in some cases, penetrated the exterior sheathing of homes and reaching the fiberglass insulation underneath. Throughout the county, hail cracked car windshields and windows, and dented roofs and hoods.
Golf ball sized hail was common, the icy precipitation ranging in proportions from marble-size to some instances of baseball sized projectiles.
In the aftermath of the storm, residents surveyed the damage, covering shattered windows and skylights in homes, putting plastic over broken car windows, and many breathing sighs of relief that there were no injuries.
Linkwood resident Becky West was in her home when the storm struck. "Very scary," she described the experience. "We were fortunate."
Jackie McCall lives on the same street in neighborhood off of Beaver Neck Village Road. "It was the scariest thing I’ve ever heard," she said, comparing the noise and impacts to military target practice.
One man said the hail had flown through the window of his mother's house and landed on a sofa in the center of her house.
Several members of the Linkwood-Salem Volunteer Fire Company were inside of their station house planning for their next chicken barbecue when the storm struck. They immediately manned a fire truck and went out to assist their neighbors.
Staff from the Dorchester County Department of Emergency Services also responded to the area to assist those affected by the storm.
Any county residents who experienced damage from the storm to their home or other structures on their property are asked to contact 410-228-2222 to report the damage.
On Wednesday, farmers were still evaluating damage to fields, with reports of damage to corn, watermelon and wheat fields.
Mike Detmer is a staff writer for the Dorchester Star and Star Democrat based in Maryland. You can reach him at mdetmer@chespub.com.
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