Tornado in Maryland, May 25, 1997

An F1 (Fujita Scale) tornado touched down in Fair Hill at about 720 p.m. EDT and damaged four homes - two severely, overturned tombstones and damaged or uprooted hundreds of trees. Property damage was estimated at $250,000. No injuries occurred.The tornado touched down over farmland near the Foxcatcher Development and moved eastward paralleling Maryland State Route 273. It remained on the ground for about half a mile before lifting over the Fair Hill Nature Center. The worst damage occurred to a log home on Maryland State Route 213. Its second story sun room was destroyed by two fallen trees. Damage also occurred to its deck and roof. The owner estimated that nearly 95 percent of the trees on the property were either damaged or destroyed. Most of the trees were 80 to 100 feet tall. Damage also occurred to several homes on Hunt Valley Road. One home had two trees on it and its siding embedded in a tree. The tornado also moved over Sharpes Cemetery and overturned about 100 tombstones and tore down a section of its black wrought-iron fence. About 1,600 homes lost power due to the fallen trees. At its maximum strength in the cemetery and around the log home, the tornado winds were estimated near the high end of the F1 Fujita scale at about 100 mph.