Damaging Wind and Lightning Strike in Maryland, August 27, 2001

Name: Damaging Wind and Lightning Strike in Maryland, August 27, 2001
Start: 2001-08-27T16:00
End: 2001-08-27T18:00
Location: Maryland

August 27, 2001 · NWS LWX · 3 events in 2 counties and zones

A thunderstorm with winds in excess of 55 MPH moved across the extreme south portion of St. Mary's County between 5 and 6 PM EDT on the 27th.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 2 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

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The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $65,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 3

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 thunderstorm with winds in excess of 55 MPH moved across the extreme south portion of St. Mary's County between 5 and 6 PM EDT on the 27th. Trees were downed in Point Lookout State Park. A wind sensor at Point Lookout recorded a wind gust of 48 MPH. Another thunderstorm with heavy rainfall and frequent lightning moved through Harford County between 5 and 7 PM EDT. In Havre de Grace, Lewis Lane, Revolution Street, Juniata Street, Bloomsburg Avenue, Water Street, Concord Street, and Girard Street were flooded. In the Grace Harbor subdivision, a home was struck by lightning and the ensuing fire caused $60,000 damage.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Baltimore/Washington wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 27, 2:15 PM EST, 1 hour 45 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 27, 2:15 PM EST, 1 hour 45 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE/WASHINGTON
315 PM EDT MON AUG 27 2001

AT 19Z...SCT SHRA/TSRA DEVELOPING ALONG AND AHEAD OF BDRY CREATED BY
DIFF HEATING FROM FREDERICK MD TO STAUNTON VA. SFC FRONT ASSOC WITH
700MB TROF HARD TO FIND IN HIGH TERRAIN BUT WINDS HAVE TURNED NW AND
DEW PTS ARE DROPPING IN FAR NW CWA. EXPECT FRONT TO PUSH SE AND EXIT
FAR SE BEFORE 06Z ENDING PRECIP FROM NW TO SE. WILL CARRY 20 POP W
OF BLUE RIDGE EARLY TO COVER LEFTOVER PRECIP NEXT FEW HRS AND GO
WITH A 30 POP E OF BLUE RIDGE...WITH THE EXCEPTION OF A 40 POP IN
FAR SE. BEST CHANCE OF -TSRA SE OF A LINE FROM DCA TO JUST E OF CHO
WHERE SUNSHINE PREVAILED TODAY AND TEMPS HAVE REACHED UPPER 80S AND
DEW PTS HAVE CLIMBED INTO THE LOW 70S.

WINDS TURN WNW BEHIND FRONT OVERNIGHT WHICH CREATES DOWNSLOPE 850MB
FLOW. THIS HELPS TO SCOUR OUT MOISTURE E OF RIDGES TUE AHEAD OF NEXT
FRONT WHICH IS FCST TO CROSS CWA BETWEEN 00Z AND 06Z TUE NIGHT.
THIS WILL CAUSE FRONT TO BE MOISTURE STARVED AS IT PASSES THROUGH.
OTHER CONS TO PRECIP...MOST DYNAMICS PASS WELL N OF CWA AND BDRY
WILL BE COMING THROUGH MOST OF CWA AFTER SUNSET. DUE TO SPILLOVER
MOISTURE AND TIMING OF FRONT WILL KEEP 30 POP OF AFT/EARLY EVE
SHRA/TSRA FROM BLUE RIDGE W WHERE CONVECTION CANNOT BE ENTIRELY
RULED OUT. HAVE DECIDED TO REMOVE POPS FROM REST OF CWA TUE.

FRONT WASHES OUT JUST SE OF AREA WED AND DRIER AIR FILTERS IN FROM
THE N AS HI PRES BUILDS IN. THE HI PUSHES OFFSHORE THU AND OUR WINDS
TURN S. AVN/CANADIAN/MRF ALL SHOW A BATCH OF MOISTURE DRAWN UP FROM
THE GULF WED AND DEVELOP A SFC LOW OVER THE MID MISS VALLEY THU.
THIS FEATURE APPROACHES CWA THU NITE INTO FRI AHEAD OF A COLD FRONT
MOVING SE FROM THE GREAT LAKES REGION. LL RH INCREASES RAPIDLY OVER
CWA THU AND THU NITE WITH GOOD WAA. BY FRI ATMOS IS UNSTABLE ENOUGH
TO SUPPORT AFT SHRA/TSRA. COLD FRONT PASSES THRU CWA SAT SO
CHANCE POPS WARRENTED AGAIN. STRONG CAA FCST BY MRF SAT NIGHT AS HI
PRES PUSHES INTO REGION. HI WILL BE OVER CWA BY MON.

REGARDING TEMPS...DID NOT STRAY FAR FROM GUIDANCE THRU FCST. COOL
DOWN FOR LABOR DAY WEEKEND ON MAV LOOKS REASONABLE BASED ON STRENGTH
AND ORIGIN OF SFC HI.

FCSTID = 36
DCA   69  88  68  85 /  30  20  20   0
BWI   65  88  65  84 /  30  20  20   0
MRB   63  88  63  84 /  20  30  30   0
IAD   64  88  64  84 /  30  20  20   0
CHO   65  88  64  84 /  40  10  10  10
HGR   60  85  60  82 /  20  30  30   0
NHK   70  87  68  83 /  40  10  10  10
W99   61  85  61  82 /  20  30  30   0

.LWX...
DC...NONE.
MD...NONE.
VA...NONE.
WV...NONE.

MMARGRAF

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 heavy rain, 1 thunderstorm wind, 1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Rain, Harford

When: August 27, 4:00 PM EST to 6:00 PM EST
Where: Harford County, Havre de Grace
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 39.536, -76.299 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Several roads were flooded.

Thunderstorm Wind, St. Mary'S

When: August 27, 4:30 PM EST
Where: St. Mary'S County, Point Lookout
Property damage: $5,000
Reported by: PARK/FOREST SERVICE
Coordinates: 38.050, -76.333

Trees were downed in Point Lookout State Park.

Lightning, Harford

When: August 27, 5:00 PM EST
Where: Harford County, 1 mi NW of Havre de Grace
Property damage: $60,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 39.536, -76.299 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A home was damaged by lightning.

What these are

Heavy Rain: Rainfall totals unusual for the place and season that did not produce a flood.
Thunderstorm Wind: Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.
Lightning: A lightning strike that killed, injured or caused damage.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Maryland in 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings in Maryland, August 2001

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: 5265443, 5265442, 5265444.