Hail and Damaging Wind in Maryland, July 4, 2001

Name: Hail and Damaging Wind in Maryland, July 4, 2001
Start: 2001-07-04T16:00
End: 2001-07-04T19:00
Location: Maryland

July 4, 2001 · NWS LWX · 4 events in 4 counties and zones

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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 1
Property damage: $10,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 4

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.

Thunderstorms with heavy rainfall, strong winds, and dangerous lightning moved through central Maryland between 5 and 8 PM EDT on the 4th. In Montgomery County, a 40 MPH wind gust was reported in Chevy Chase where small limbs were downed. Rainfall totals included 3.14 inches in Forest Glen, 3.12 inches in Chevy Chase, and 2.25 inches in Bethesda. In Prince George's County, pea to dime sized hail and 2.08 inches of rain were reported in South Bowie. In Anne Arundel County, a 13-year-old boy was injured by lightning in Odenton. The bolt dug a shallow trench in the ground and a ball of fire shot toward two boys and a woman playing horseshoes under a tree. Two of the people had no visible injuries but the 13-year-old boy had burns on his legs. In Calvert County, high winds caused an old barn to collapse along Route 4, 1.2 miles south of Broomes Island Road near Port Republic. Nearby, trees were snapped, numerous large items were blown around, and a home suffered minor 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 Jul 4, 1:45 PM EST, 2 hours 15 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 4, 1:45 PM EST, 2 hours 15 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE/WASHINGTON
245 PM EDT WED JUL 4 2001

ERN U.S. TROF WILL AMPLIFY ONCE AGAIN OVR THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS AS
A CUTOFF LOW DROPS SEWD THEN EWD THRU SE CANADA. UPR LVL TROF WILL
BEGIN TO LIFT OUT SAT AS UPR LVL RIDGE OVR THE CENTRAL U.S. STARTS
TO NUDGE EWD A BIT.

AT THE SFC...A TROF WILL PUSH THRU THE AREA THIS EVENING FOLLOWED BY
THE MAIN CDFNT THU AFT/EVE.

BEST MOISTURE CONVERGENCE AND INSTABILITY WILL BE ALG AND JUST AHD
OF THE SFC TROF EARLY TNGT. WILL GO CHC POPS THIS EVE FOR SHRA/TSRA
AS THE SFC TROF MOVES W TO E ACRS THE AREA.

MUCH OF THE MOISTURE AND INSTABILITY WILL BE SWEPT E OF THE AREA
TNGT WITH THE SFC TROF. W FLOW BEHIND THE TROF WILL DRY US OUT LATER
TNGT AND THU. LOW-LVL FORCING WL BE MARGINAL WITH THE CDFNT THU
AFT/EVE AS THE LOW-LVL FLOW NEVER COMPLETELY BACKS AROUND. AIR MASS
WILL NOT BE AS MOIST AND UNSTABLE AND W DOWNSLOPING FLOW WILL TEND
TO SUPRESS ACTIVITY. IN ADDITION...BUFKIT SOUNDINGS FM THE ETA SHOW
A CAP IN PLACE. HOWEVER...GIVEN THE FACT THAT THE CDFNT WILL COME
THRU DURING MAX HEATING WILL LEAVE 30 POPS IN PLACE JUST IN CASE A
FEW TSRA FORM ALG THE BOUNDARY.

SFC HIGH PRES BUILDS INTO THE AREA THU NIGHT AND FRI WITH A COOLER
AND DRIER AIR MASS. WILL GO M/CLR THU NIGHT AND SUNNY ON FRI.

RETURN FLOW ON BACKSIDE OF THE HIGH FOR SAT. MOIST AND MORE UNSTABLE
AIR MASS WILL RESULT IN SCT AFT/EVE TSRA AHEAD OF A CDFNT WHICH WILL
MOVE THRU THE AREA SAT NIGHT/EARLY SUN.

FCSTID = 15 / DMW

DCA   70  87  61  80 /  50  30  10   0
BWI   67  85  56  80 /  50  30  10   0
MRB   63  82  54  80 /  50  30  10   0
IAD   64  86  54  80 /  50  30  10   0
CHO   68  86  59  81 /  50  30  10   0
HGR   62  82  52  79 /  50  30  10   0
NHK   70  85  63  79 /  50  30  10   0
W99   58  82  48  80 /  30  30  10   0

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

The radar

The Sterling radar (KLWX), 30 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 22:14 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

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

Heavy Rain, Montgomery

When: July 4, 4:00 PM EST to 7:00 PM EST
Where: Montgomery County, Countywide
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 39.136, -77.204 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Lightning, Anne Arundel

When: July 4, 4:30 PM EST
Where: Anne Arundel County, Odenton
Injuries: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 38.994, -76.568 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A 13-year-old boy was injured by lightning.

Hail, Prince George'S

When: July 4, 5:15 PM EST
Where: Prince George'S County, Bowie
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 39.000, -76.783

Pea to dime sized hail was reported in South Bowie.

Thunderstorm Wind, Calvert

When: July 4, 6:30 PM EST
Where: Calvert County, Port Republic
Property damage: $10,000
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 38.500, -76.533

A barn collapsed, a home received minor damage, and trees were downed.

What these are

Heavy Rain: Rainfall totals unusual for the place and season that did not produce a flood.
Lightning: A lightning strike that killed, injured or caused damage.
Hail: Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
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.

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, July 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: 5259251, 5259252, 5259253, 5259254.