Tornado, Washington
- When
- June 18, 4:29 PM EST to 4:34 PM EST
- Where
- Washington County, Hancock to 4 mi NE of Hancock
- Rating
- F0
- Path length
- 2 mi
- Path width
- 15 yd
- Property damage
- $10,000
- Coordinates
- 39.700, -78.100
Tornado in Maryland, June 18, 1997
A small tornado touched down near the Chesapeake and Ohio (C&O) Canal 4 miles east of Hancock, knocking down several trees and limbs before crossing interstate 70. After crossing the highway, the twister snapped tree tops and lifted several cages and parts of a fence at a local farm.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it. 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
- $10,000
- 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 small tornado touched down near the Chesapeake and Ohio (C&O) Canal 4 miles east of Hancock, knocking down several trees and limbs before crossing interstate 70. After crossing the highway, the twister snapped tree tops and lifted several cages and parts of a fence at a local farm. Witnesses noted the trees swirling "like a blender" as the twister moved through.
The radar
The Sterling radar (KLWX), 96 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 21:29 UTC.
Event by event
1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- 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
- Damaging Winds in Maryland, June 18, 1997
- Flash Flooding in Mississippi, June 18, 1997
- Tornadoes and Damaging Winds in Virginia, June 18, 1997
- Tornado and Hail in Wyoming, June 18, 1997
- Flash Flood and Damaging Wind in New York, June 18, 1997
- Flash Flooding and Lightning Strike in Ohio, June 18, 1997
- Damaging Winds in Georgia, June 18, 1997
- Flash Flood in Louisiana, June 18, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Virginia, June 18, 1997
- Flash Flood and Damaging Winds in North Carolina, June 18 to 24, 1997
- Damaging Wind in Nebraska, June 18, 1997
- Damaging Wind in Maryland, June 18, 1997
More
Every storm in Maryland in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Maryland, 1997Warnings in Maryland, June 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: 5604775.