JOHNSVILLE, Md. -
Severe weather caused heavy damage to a giant barn in Frederick County. The storm ripped the roof off the barn and tore it to shreds.
Officials on the scene say they believe it was a microburst that rolled through Johnsville, Md. Friday evening.
The roof of the barn was peeled right off and many pieces of it were thrown randomly across a large field.
Residents say things were calm one minute, and the next minute, there was intense wind and rain.
"We didn't actually see anything at first," said neighbor Opal Snyder. "It was nothing but a whole lot of wind, and I didn't think we were going to get any rain at all. And we sit down at the dinner table and I looked out the window and you couldn't see anything. All of sudden, we heard something collapse or some kind of explosion noise."
"A tenant that lives in this house behind me said part of her roof was off of her shed," said Richard Grossnickle, the owner of the barn. "And her grandson went around the other side and said the whole roof was down and took debris clear across the road, clear after the church, which is about 1,000 feet probably.
The barn has been in the Grossnickle family since at least 1958. It housed just over 100 cows. All of the cows, with the exception of one, got out of the barn without any injury.
There were several trees toppled in the storm and some power outages, but overall, the damage wasn't widespread.
No one was injured.
The owner of the barn says he will survey the damage Saturday and decide whether he can rebuild.
