HUNTSVILLE -- A microburst toppled massive trees, snapped branches, blew down power lines and damaged homes Thursday in a four-block area of Huntsville.
Most of the destruction that occurred around 2 p.m. came in an area from 200 South to 400 South and 7400 East to 7600 East, said Weber County Sheriff's Sgt. Ryon Hadley.
No one was injured, but three homes and a barn were damaged, he said. Estimated costs to repair the structures were not available.
Brian McInerney, a hydrologist with the National Weather Service in Salt Lake City, confirmed that the destruction in Huntsville was caused by a microburst spawned by thunderstorms that produced winds in excess of 60 mph.
A microburst is a strong downdraft that induces an outburst of damaging winds over an area ranging from a half-mile to a mile. The duration of a microburst is usually less than 20 minutes.
Thomas J. Stirland, who lives at 7628 E. 200 South, said he was in his pasture when the winds began to wreak havoc on the neighborhood.
"Oh, my scrud!" he exclaimed. "I thought the whole tree (in his yard) was going to come down."
Steve Woolley, who lives at 335 S. 7400 East, was working in his home office when hail began hitting the windows and the storm's intensity suddenly increased.
"It got really loud," he said, describing the howl of the wind.
One of the hardest-hit areas was the Huntsville City Park, where at least a half-dozen massive fir trees, some planted more than 80 years ago to honor World War I veterans, were uprooted and narrowly missed crashing into a metal bowery.
"This is awful," Huntsville Mayor Jim Truett said while standing near the base of one of the trees that had been ripped from the ground and toppled on its side.
Truett, who took a Standard-Examiner reporter and photographer on a tour of the stricken area, said many property owners were at work when the microburst occurred and likely were unaware of the damage.
"They are going to come home to this," he said while glancing at a tree toppled onto the roof of a house.
The most serious damage appeared to occur at a home at 535 S. 7600 East, where a tree knocked an electrical panel from the exterior of the dwelling, prompting authorities to worry about a possible fire.
A downed power line dangled from the panel across a section of the tree and into the yard.
Melinda Medina came outside to see that her tree had also fallen, destroying a section of her fence and the shrubs that lined the property.
A brick home at 200 S. 7600 East that once belonged to David O. McKay, the ninth president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, sustained damage to the corner of its roof when an enormous tree snapped like a twig and fell on the house.
Huntsville Town Councilman Richard Sorensen said the municipality has been hit by microbursts before but none as serious as the one Thursday.
"It's the worst I've ever seen in Huntsville," he said.
Elsewhere, the storm knocked out power in Roy and left 150 Rocky Mountain Power customers without electricity, said spokeswoman Margaret Oler.
Crews expected to have power restored to customers by late Thursday night.
Standard-Examiner reporter Michael McFall contributed to this story.
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