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NWS: Nine Tornadoes Tore Across Maryland
June 4, 2012
By Annie Linskey, The Baltimore Sun | At least nine tornadoes ripped through Maryland on Friday during a 41/2-hour period, the National Weather Service said Sunday.
Tornadoes touched down in six counties -- including one that left a four-mile path of destruction in Carroll County, according to the Weather Service. Two were injured in a separate tornado that tore through Pleasant Hills in Harford County.
The first of the nine tornadoes hit at 2:29 p.m. and the last was at 7:06 p.m., the National Weather Service reported.
The twisters were the first to hit Maryland this year. The state does not often see tornadoes -- the previous one had been in April 2011. Before that, Maryland hadn`t had one since 2008.
Heather Sheffield, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said that over the next few days, her agency might confirm additional tornadoes as they complete storm surveys and damage assessments.
"Our efforts have not ended," Sheffield said. "The number of tornadoes may still go up."
The first tornado touched down at 2:29 p.m. Friday in Damascus in Montgomery County. A half-hour later, a second twister passed near Damascus. A third one, confirmed by video, touched down south of Poolesville in Montgomery County at 2:37 p.m.
Carroll County had two tornadoes -- the first had a maximum width of 100 yards and tore through an area southeast of Mount Airy, near Interstate 70. It hit about 2:48 p.m. About 30 minutes later, another tornado was spotted in Gamber, leaving the four-mile path. Its maximum width was 150 yards.
Howard County was socked at 2:52 p.m.; the twister there touched down east of Mount Airy and left 1.4-mile path of destruction. "Intense" damage was concentrated in the 500 block of W. Watersville Road, the National Weather Service reported.
In Prince George`s County, there was a "brief" tornado that left only "light" damage, according to the National Weather Service. It touched down at 5:26 p.m.
The last tornado plowed through Anne Arundel County near Fort Meade at 7:06 p.m. The "sporadic" damage from this one led National Weather Service officials to conclude that it was "not in constant contact" with the ground -- instead, it skipped along over roads and trees.
An official in the control tower at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport saw it cross the western portion of a runway, "lofting tree debris," according to the National Weather Service.
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(c)2012 The Baltimore Sun
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Story image: With the help of a headlamp, Hill McCarty uses a squeegee to push water out of his damaged business in Fallston, Md., Friday, June 1, 2012, after a tornado touchdown caused damage to structures in the area. AP Photo/Patrick Semansky
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