Jenn Luna didn’t initially think much Monday evening when dark clouds began rolling through her Ogletown neighborhood.
The Cherokee Woods resident has dealt with quick-moving thunderstorms before − prior to moving to Delaware about a year ago, she lived in East Atlanta, where severe storms and torrential rain aren’t unusual.
She has a routine when bad weather comes through, which has never failed her before. She goes from room to room in her house, ensuring all windows are closed. Then, she waits for the storm to pass.
Thus, Luna assumed when a severe thunderstorm tracked over Brookside around 6 p.m. that her procedure would be the same.
She couldn’t have been more wrong.
Luna barely missed being hit by a tree that came into her bedroom Monday evening during what she and numerous other Cherokee Woods residents believe was a tornado. Tuesday afternoon, the National Weather Service said it was straight-line winds − thunderstorm winds that have no rotation and are not a tornado but can reach over 100 miles per hour − that caused damage to the area.
While Luna and her pets got out mostly unscathed, a neighbor a few houses down wasn’t so lucky. His wife was hospitalized with several broken ribs after being hit by a tree that came through their home. The house was deemed structurally unsafe, too.
BACKGROUND:Monday night’s storm damage result of ‘straight line winds,’ not tornado: weather service
As Luna stood outside her garage Tuesday morning, an uprooted tree from her front yard blocking the road, she said she was thankful she wasn’t hurt and the damage wasn’t worse.
But, she said, it’s still “very surreal.”
“I think I’m a bit in shock; I’m crying randomly,” she said. “But I’m very grateful that I’m here.”
A quick turn of events
When Luna first began moving from room to room to ensure windows were shut, the storm didn’t look particularly bad, she said.
But by the time she reached her bedroom, the wind was howling and she saw trees swaying.
She shut the window quickly, knowing something wasn’t right. “This is a tornado,” she thought.
As she made her way to her office across the hall, she spotted her cat, Marley, whose eyes were trained on the bedroom she’d just come from. Then, the creaking began.
“I was like, ‘Oh, I gotta get downstairs,'” Luna recalled. “As soon as I hit the bottom step, there was an impact.”
OUTAGES:Is your power out from Monday’s storm? Where power outages are and repair efforts
Seconds later, she heard and felt another boom. Both impacts were trees crashing through part of the home.
After hearing the trees fall onto the house, Luna raced back upstairs, worried about Marley. Fortunately, the feline had jumped toward the stairs and was unhurt.
Luna said she fell down the stairs trying to catch the cat. She was still sore on Tuesday from the fall.
But when asked what would have happened if she’d remained in her bedroom for even just a few moments longer?
“It would’ve probably knocked me out,” she said. “The window came out … and I had been right there, so (the tree) would’ve hit me.”
Luna said things could have gone much worse, and for that she’s grateful. Her home has a yellow notice on it, meaning she is allowed in.
Houses just a few doors down − including the one where the older woman was hit by a tree and broke her ribs − are condemned, a red sign taped to their windows.
Got a tip? Send to Isabel Hughes at ihughes@delawareonline.com or 302-324-2785. For all things breaking news, follow her on Twitter at @izzihughes_
