Tornado and Hail in Maryland, May 27, 2001

Thunderstorms that produced damaging wind, large hail, and a tornado moved across central Maryland during the afternoon and evening hours of the 27th. In Montgomery County, a tornado touched down 3.5 miles southwest of Olney and moved northeast into the center of town. The twister was rated an F1 and was 70 yards wide. The first sign of damage from the tornado was downed trees at the intersection of Muncaster Mill Road and Bowie Mill Road southwest of Olney. The tornado tracked east-northeast, passing just north of Magruder High School through North Branch Stream Valley Park. The damage path reappeared over Norbeck Country Club. Numerous trees were downed in a narrow area on the north end of the property and an employee saw the funnel cloud touch down. The damage to trees continued just east of the country club into the Cahsel Manor and Williamsburg Village neighborhoods on the southwest side of Olney. Over 40 trees were downed across the neighborhood. A car, shed, power line, and a large fence were significantly damaged by downed trees. One home sustained damage to a gutter and three other homes had small portions of siding pushed up or removed. Next, the tornado moved into the center of town and crossed just east of the intersection of Route 97 and 108. A restaurant just east of the intersection had pieces of roofing and insulation ripped off and carried blocks away. A few trees in the parking lot were also downed. Nearby, a strip mall which contained a multi-screen cinema and six shops sustained significant roof damage. Pieces of roofing material were found over a mile away from the site. Theater patrons saw ceiling tiles crashing down in the lobby. Fifty cars in the parking lot had damage to windows and a few storefront windows were also broken. Remarkably, no injuries were reported. The mall had to be evacuated and temporarily condemned until structural engineers could make repairs. The tornado continued to down trees northeast of the shopping center between Appomattox Road and Brooke Grove Elementary School before dissipating.In addition, the tornadic storm produced high winds a few miles west of Olney. Trees were downed near the intersection of Bowie Mill Road and Bready Drive. The same storm system dropped dime sized hail on Montgomery Village. A storm earlier in the afternoon downed trees in Rockville. Several other locations across the county reported pea to marble sized hail during the afternoon, including Potomac, Rockville, Silver Spring, and Burtonsville. Late in the evening another storm produced a funnel cloud over Avenel Golf Course in Potomac. No damage was reported. In Howard County, pea to marble sized hail fell in Columbia. Five miles south of town, dime to penny sized hail was reported. High winds caused power outages across the county. In Anne Arundel County, trees and power lines were downed in Glen Burnie, Rivera Beach, and Annapolis. Pea to marble sized hail fell in Jessup, Rivera Beach, Glen Burnie, and at Fort Meade. A wind gust of 45 MPH was reported in Pasadena. In Baltimore County, trees and power lines were downed in Cockeysville, Towson, and Middle River.