Tornado in Maryland, November 8, 1996

A persistent, strongly-rotating thunderstorm which originated in Charles Co finally collapsed in southeastern Baltimore Co, dropping a tornado that skipped along a nearly 4 mile path through Dundalk. There were dozens of eyewitnesses to the event; one storm chaser produced a short videotape confirming the twister.The tornado tracked from Soller's Point through residential and industrial portions of Dundalk, dissipating along the Back River east of North Point. The damage in Soller's Point included three homes with stripped gutters; bent siding, downed telephone cable, and aluminum facia lifted from a church roof. Immediately north along Dundalk Ave., two old storefront roof awnings were torn off, one from a liquor store and the other from a laundromat. A small portion of cinder block wall was destroyed at the laundromat.The twister proceeded northeast, causing an estimated $250,000 in damage at a marina. Thirty-five small boats were damaged, but only two severely. A warehouse on the property lost 1/3 of its aluminum siding, including an entire wall. The storm appeared to skip at this point; damage from Lynch Cove to Bear Creek was limited to a few fallen trees.Damage picked up once again in North Point. At North Point Village, an aluminum porch was blown off a home, exposing siding. Some insulation from the home was tossed into nearby trees. Six large trees were snapped or uprooted in this portion of the neighborhood. Less than 1/2 mile to the northeast, a five-ton unsecured office trailer was flipped over, causing an arm injury to a 19 year-old man inside.The swath of damage continued into the industrial section of North Point. A cinder block wall collapsed at the rear of the Ivy Steel and Wire plant. Aluminum skirting across the top of the building was blown off, allowing a portion of the wall to fall. Damage to the plant was estimated at $75,000. The twister then struck Container Depot Industries, shifted and/or damaging 25 to 30 shipping containers. An adjacent marsh field's grass was flattened in a cyclical, snake-like pattern. Damage to the containers was estimated at $10,000.