ROBERTSDALE, Ala. — A line of storms passed through Baldwin County early Friday morning, leaving a path of destruction and a lot of mess for residents and work crews to deal with. While there were reports of injuries, none were described as serious.

Wayne Stastka could be found with other family members Friday morning along U.S. Highway 90 in Elsanor, picking up what was left of Jerry Stastka’s barn and repairing the farm’s fences. Jerry is Wayne’s father.

“The storm came through around 4 a.m., said Wayne, who lives in Robertsdale. “I think it was a tornado from all the winds.”

Wayne says no one at the Stastka home was hurt.

Stastka added that his father’s herd of Back Angus cows were spooked by the storm. None were hurt.

Some of the more adventurous cattle took advantage of the farm’s barbed wire fences being down to stray across the highway and into places they do not belong.

“We have them all back now,” said Wayne.

While Stastka thinks there was a tornado, and other media outlets say there was a tornado, Jack Cullen, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Mobile was not so sure.

“There were several waves along a stalled boundary,” said Cullen.

That, Cullen believes, may have set up what are called “straight line winds,” which can be quite destructive. Cullen said that trained personnel from the NWS would be out “probably Saturday” to survey the damage and determine what caused it.

For one Elsanor family, the storm probably means the loss of a home.

“We have been living there six years,” said Gene Morrow, who said the home was built in the early 1980s. There were four adults, two dogs and one cat in the home when the storm struck.

“The lightning was nonstop,” said Morrow.

When the family saw one of the walls moving, they retreated to a back bedroom.

“We were trapped,” said Morrow. “We didn't know if there were live wires.”

The family stayed put until light and then carefully picked their way out of the home. All were well, and Morrow called in someone with heavy equipment to remove a beam that was causing a wall to sag. That way, he hoped, the family could rescue more of their possessions.

But, Morrow does not think the home can be saved.

“It will have to be bulldozed down,” he said.

Fortunately, Morrow added, the family has a motor home that does not appear to be damaged and a workshop behind the home can provide some room as well.

No matter what caused the winds, cleaning up is going to be a big chore.

According to Rebecca Shobe of Baldwin EMC, there were poles down in Elsanor, and about 1,500 customers in the Elsanor area were without power.

"Almost all our customers were back on by 1 p.m.,” Shobe said, adding that the utility called in “everyone available” when the extent of the damage became known. She added that there were many pole and wires down and the utility replaced transformers.

Having the work crews out meant some customers in the Gulf Shores area didn’t go without power for long.

“Lightning struck a circuit,” said Shobe. “We had a crew out doing other work, and they saw it. They were able to respond immediately.”

Mayor Charles Murphy of Robertsdale says his city came through the storm in relatively good shape.

“One house on Florida Street had a tree fall on it, but no one was hurt,” Murphy said.

A quick tour up Highway 59 Friday showed a large oak tree in front of the Mack Funeral Home was down, taking out a light pole in the parking lot.

Workmen were busy putting plywood on what was Aunt Sarah’s Bakery and Deli.

And, Sandy Folan, Resource Manager of the ReStore on Highway 59 was busy snapping photos of that business.

“We are still assessing the damage,” she said, adding that a back door was crushed and other damage was found to the back of the store.

“We will reopen once we know it is safe.”

On Saturday, the Baldwin County Emergency Management Agency advised residents of the Fish and Styx Rivers to watch for flooding. The NWS projected flooding for that area.

The Baldwin County Highway Department reported that the majority of roads remained open during the storm.

For families along County Road 85, the damage was deja vu all over again.

“The roof is gone,” said Robert Foley, surveying the mess in his Elsanor backyard with his family members Friday morning. Foley said that a new roof had been laid over the old roof after Hurricane Ivan.

That new roof was in pieces. In the yard, the wind was playing tag with tufts of pink insulation.

“I was in bed when it hit,” said Foley. “I was wrapped up in glass.” He added that he and his wife, Lily, were fortunate not to be injured.

The Foley garden, recently planted with beans, corn and potatoes appeared to be a loss.

One bright spot, the Foley says, is that their two dogs, Odie and Peanut, who were on the home’s back porch, were not injured.