Residents assess damage from Berks County hail
WYOMISSING, Pa. (WPVI) -- Golf-ball sized hail fell across Berks County during Thursday's storm causing widespread damage to cars, homes and even a shopping mall.
There were downed trees, cracked skylights, and broken windows.
"I just saw the tree just topple in slow motion," said Mary Hill.
The whipping winds and hail did some serious damage in this Reading neighborhood.
"All of the sudden I saw the big, big cloud coming and I thought, 'Oh my! What's that?'" said Marianne Westendorp.
Westendorp began cleaning up Friday from what she believes was a mild tornado.
While no tornado has been confirmed in that area. Among the damage left behind for her - shattered shingles on the roof.
"It was about golf-ball sized. The whole grassy area was white," said Westendorp.
"It was like one window got dark outside and then the next one she was in a corner room, and then it pounded with hail," said Linda McCrae.
The hail came down so hard that it blew off a sky light in the Berkshire Mall and for a while sent balls of hail falling into the inside of the mall.
"I just saw people running everywhere and then I saw the ceiling, and all the sky lights coming down and stuff," said Jarred Luckenbill.
"I was crying. I actually had glass hit me so it was pretty scary. Everybody was running around, crying screaming, scared," said Nikki Hurst.
Home video shows the strength of the storm as it beat down on cars at Masano Mercedes and BMW.
"We have seen vehicles all morning where the windshield, the back window, the sun roof, shattered, totally gone," said Orin Mowry.
The dealership's owner says he believes at least 400 cars were likely totaled from the damage.
"We have some vehicles with pretty elaborate sun roofs. It could be $15,000-$20,000 to fix," said John Masano.
Many luxury cars are made from aluminum so the ones with heavy damage may be nearly impossible to fix.
As far as the homes damaged, some residents tell Action News that people have already been going door-to-door peddling their services.
Homeowners are warned that no matter what, make sure to go online or make a call to confirm you are dealing with a reputable contractor.
