Tornado and Damaging Winds in Maryland, May 12, 1993

Name: Tornado and Damaging Winds in Maryland, May 12, 1993
Start: 1993-05-12T15:17
End: 1993-05-12T18:30
Location: Maryland

May 12, 1993 · 12 events in 9 counties and zones

11 thunderstorm wind, 1 tornado, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 11 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $87,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 12

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

The radar

The Sterling radar (KLWX), 56 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 22:55 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

11 thunderstorm wind, 1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Frederick

When: May 12, 3:17 PM EST
Where: Frederick County
Property damage: $5,000
Coordinates: 39.472, -77.398 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Thunderstorm Wind, Frederick

When: May 12, 3:45 PM EST
Where: Frederick County
Property damage: $5,000
Coordinates: 39.472, -77.398 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Thunderstorm Wind, Montgomery

When: May 12, 4:15 PM EST
Where: Montgomery County
Coordinates: 39.136, -77.204 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Thunderstorm Wind, Prince George'S

When: May 12, 5:32 PM EST
Where: Prince George'S County
Property damage: $500
Coordinates: 38.830, -76.847 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Thunderstorm Wind, Charles

When: May 12, 5:50 PM EST
Where: Charles County
Property damage: $500
Coordinates: 38.474, -77.013 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Tornado, Anne Arundel

When: May 12, 5:55 PM EST
Where: Anne Arundel County
Rating: F0
Path length: 0.5 mi
Path width: 30 yd
Property damage: $5,000
Coordinates: 39.070, -76.670

Thunderstorm Wind, Prince George'S

When: May 12, 5:55 PM EST
Where: Prince George'S County
Property damage: $5,000
Coordinates: 38.830, -76.847 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Thunderstorm Wind, Anne Arundel

When: May 12, 6:00 PM EST
Where: Anne Arundel County
Property damage: $500
Coordinates: 38.994, -76.568 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Thunderstorm Wind, Queen Anne'S

When: May 12, 6:00 PM EST
Where: Queen Anne'S County
Property damage: $50,000
Coordinates: 39.038, -76.085 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Thunderstorm Wind, Calvert

When: May 12, 6:27 PM EST
Where: Calvert County
Property damage: $5,000
Coordinates: 38.535, -76.531 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Thunderstorm Wind, St. Mary'S

When: May 12, 6:30 PM EST
Where: St. Mary'S County
Property damage: $5,000
Coordinates: 38.216, -76.529 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Thunderstorm Wind, Harford

When: May 12, 6:30 PM EST
Where: Harford County
Property damage: $5,000
Coordinates: 39.536, -76.299 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Severe thunderstorms produced widespread wind damage across a large part of Maryland. Many locations had trees and power lines knocked down. Trees were knocked down near Rockville, Beltsville, Upper Marlboro, Chesapeake Beach and Huntingtown. Trees and powers lines were downed across Charles and Frederick counties. In Queen Anne's County, powerful thunderstorm winds ripped sections of roof from three condominiums in Stevensville. A small tornado touched down briefly in Gambrills, Anne Arundel County, tearing the metal roof from a barn and uprooting several trees. Trees were knocked down by thunderstorm winds in several other parts of the county. Lightning took its toll as well. Lightning damaged power lines and transformers throughout Calvert and Baltimore counties leaving thousands of customers without power for hours. Thunderstorms produced over 5,000 lightning strikes in Baltimore county alone leaving 80,000 customers without power. In Baltimore County, a man was killed by lightning while standing under a tree. The man and his son sought shelter from the storm under a tree. The tree and man were struck by lightning. (M39O)

What these are

Thunderstorm Wind: Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.
Tornado: A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Maryland in 1993 Every state in 1993 This day in weather history The tornado archive for Maryland, 1993 Warnings in Maryland, May 1993

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 10329632, 10329633, 10329586, 10329618, 10329574, 10327111, 10329619, 10327112, 10329666, 10327053, 10329673, 10329751.