SUFFOLK, Va. — Within a matter of minutes, it had already come and gone.
“It happened so fast, within a minute it was all over," Morris Glover Jr. said, standing on the driveway of his Dutch Road home in Suffolk.
The Glover family has lived in their Holland-area house for over a decade. Just moments before Christmas 2020, Glover Jr. awoke to the sights and sound of chaos in his home.
“Before I could even do anything or respond I heard a noise, my wife took off, I took off after. Wind was coming down the stairs so hard she couldn’t climb the stairs," Glover Jr. said.
The National Weather Service says that on the night of Christmas Eve and early morning hours of Christmas, at least one tornado touched down in Suffolk, downing power poles and flooding roads in the area.
As of Friday evening, five residences sustained minor to moderate damage from the storm, according to Suffolk officials. Six people were displaced due to the damage, some resorting to staying with relatives. Crews from Community Electric responded on Friday to restore power.
What many could hear from outside their homes, though, the Glovers could feel inside their own.
“I tried to open the door but it wouldn’t open, and then I pulled the handle and the lock came off," Cary Glover said, who was trapped upstairs along with his sister in separate rooms at the time when the storm was passing through.
“I pulled her off the floor. She was in shock, told her to get it together. By the time I got downstairs it was pretty much over... longest minute and a half of my life, that’s for sure," Cary Glover said.
When the morning light shone through on Christmas morning, it revealed the true extent of the storm's damage. Debris from the Glovers' house is currently scattered across their property, including paneling from the side of their house, and portions of their porch patio. Cars sitting in the driveway had been blown hundreds of feet behind their home, including Morris Glover Jr.'s car being all but destroyed.
“I don’t think the Blue Book value will be very much on it," he laughed.
“Interesting year, from COVID, your house being torn apart and your shop gone, all within a couple minutes," Cary Glover said.
As of Friday morning, the Glovers were inside their powerless home, waiting for the insurance company to look at the property. However, the Glovers are still thankful this holiday season. All things considered, they say the damages to their home and other property are only material, and replaceable.
The whole family is okay following the storm, showing that sometimes the greatest presents are the ones that can't be wrapped.
“On the surface it looks like a terrible Christmas Eve... it’s going to end up being the best Christmas we ever had. We’re safe, we appreciate family more, and how safe we ended up being. Presents don’t matter, but family does," Cary Glover said.
“At the end of the day, it’s just stuff. I have my wife and children and that’s what matters," Glover Jr. said.