Damaging Wind and High Wind in Maryland, December 17, 2000

An unseasonably warm air mass and an intense low pressure system and cold front set the stage for an extremely windy day across the Maryland Eastern Shore on December 17th. Gusty southerly winds buffeted the region during the first half of the day. Thunderstorms embedded within bands of heavy precipitation exacerbated the wind, especially in Cecil County. As the cold front passed through the region during the early afternoon of the 17th, the strong southerly winds were replaced by equally strong westerly winds into the evening. The difference was there were no thunderstorms to mix down even stronger winds. Most of the peak wind gusts occurred during the morning and were between 40 and 50 mph, with higher gusts in Cecil County during the severe thunderstorm. Trees and power lines were knocked down in and around Elkton (Cecil County). Trees were knocked down on Delaware Avenue near Maryland Route 7. About 200 customers lost power. The peak wind gust at Baltimore-Washington International Airport was 43 mph and the high temperature was 62 degrees. The high temperature in Stevensville (Queen Anne's County) was 61 degrees and was 64 degrees in Easton (Talbot County).