Dust Devil, Howard
- When
- July 30, 12:00 PM EST
- Where
- Howard County, Clarksville
- Coordinates
- 39.251, -76.931 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Dust Devil in Maryland, July 30, 1997
A dust devil developed in an open field near Clarksville during the early afternoon, picking up 5 to 6 tents up to 25 feet in the air. The tents contained camping duffel bags - the bags held up to 40 pounds of equipment.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 1 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
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 1
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.
What happened
The episode as NWS LWX wrote it up.
A dust devil developed in an open field near Clarksville during the early afternoon, picking up 5 to 6 tents up to 25 feet in the air. The tents contained camping duffel bags - the bags held up to 40 pounds of equipment. One tent was slightly damaged when it was ejected from the dust devil and struck a parked truck. The tents and equipment were part of the Cycle Across Maryland annual summer tour.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 dust devil. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Dust Devil
- A small rotating column of dust from surface heating that caused damage or injury.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Tornado and Flash Flood in Colorado, July 30, 1997
- Wildfire in California, July 30, 1997
- Lightning Strike in Alabama, July 30, 1997
- Damaging Wind in New Mexico, July 30, 1997
- Flash Flood in Texas, July 30, 1997
- Flash Flood in Hawaii, July 30, 1997
- Damaging Wind in Florida, July 30, 1997
- Damaging Wind in Texas, July 30, 1997
- Flood in Texas, July 30, 1997
- Flood in Texas, July 30, 1997
- Hail and Lightning Strike in Georgia, July 30, 1997
- Waterspouts in Virginia, July 30, 1997
More
Every storm in Maryland in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Maryland, July 1997
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: 5611208.