Hail and Damaging Winds in Maryland, August 2, 2002

Name: Hail and Damaging Winds in Maryland, August 2, 2002
Start: 2002-08-02T16:45
End: 2002-08-02T19:12
Location: Maryland

August 2, 2002 · NWS LWX · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. 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: 0
Property damage: $45,000
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.

Thunderstorms with large hail and damaging winds moved through the northern Portion of Maryland between 5:30 and 8:30 PM EDT. In Allegany County, ping pong ball sized hail covered Interstate 68 three miles west of Flintstone. In Baltimore County, multiple trees were downed onto Graystone Road in Graystone. Just west of Interstate 83 in the Belfast area, trees were downed along Belfast Road. In Monkton, forty to sixty trees up to 8 feet in diameter were uprooted or snapped. Near Gemmills, two trees were blocking the intersection of White Hall and Vernon roads. Just northeast of Gemmills on Garrett Road, numerous trees and power lines were downed onto a home in the 2800 block. A bulldozer had to be called in to clear the road due to the amount of downed trees and power lines before officials could respond to the home. In Harford County, high winds downed trees in the Norrisville, Shawsville, and Jarrettsville areas. One tree was downed onto a power pole on White Hall Road. Houcks Road was blocked by a downed tree. Wires were downed at the intersection of Jarrettsville Pike (Route 146) and Pocock Road in Taylor.

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 2, 1:05 PM EST, 3 hours 40 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 2, 1:05 PM EST, 3 hours 40 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE/WASHINGTON
205 PM EDT FRI AUG 2 2002

SHORT TERM...TNGT THRU SAT NIGHT...

HUGE SUBTROPICAL RIDGE EXTENDING FROM COAST TO COAST WILL ACTUALLY
STRENGTHEN AND BUILD EWD THROUGH FRI NIGHT. MEANWHILE...THE
WESTERLIES REMAIN AT THEIR SUMMER RETREAT ACROSS SRN CANADA AND THE
FAR NRN U.S.

MODELS IN DECENT AGREEMENT ON EVOLUTION OF THINGS OVR THE NEXT 3
PDS. CDFNT EXTENDING FM THE GTLKS THROUGH THE OH VLY WILL PRESS SEWD
JUST A BIT MORE TNGT. HOWEVER...WITH DYNAMICS/SUPPORT FOR THE FRONT
LIFTING OUT THRU ERN CANADA AND UPR LVL RIDGE STRENGTHENING AND
BUILDING EWD OVR THE AREA...DOUBT FRONT WILL EVER MAKE IT PASS THE
MASON/DIXON LINE. THIS IS SHOWN IN THE ETA LI FIELD WHICH SHOWS THE
STABLE AIR REMAINING N OF THE REGION THE NEXT 3 PDS. IN
ADDTN...PWATS REMAIN OVR 1.5 INCHES THRU SAT NIGHT INDICATING NONE
OF THE DRIER AIR IS ABLE TO PRESS SWD INTO THE AREA.

CAPES 2500-3500 J/KG AND LIS -6C TO -8C OVR THE AREA ATTM WITH
DESTABILIZATION INCREASING. IN ADDTN...500MB TEMPS A COUPLE DEG
COOLER TDA THAN YDA. NO SYNOPTIC SCALE BOUNDARY OR SHORTWAVE TO
FOCUS CONVECTION REMAINDER OF THE AFTRN. HOWEVER...AS WE SAW
YDA...SCT CONVECTION COULD FIRE ON MESOSCALE BOUNDARIES SUCH AS A
BAY BREEZE. IN ADDTN...SCT CONVECTION COULD FIRE OVR THE MTNS DUE TO
OROGRAPHIC LIFT. CONDITIONS APPEAR FAVORABLE FOR SCT CONVECTION
REMAINDER OF AFTRN INTO EARLY EVE.

ETA SHOWS A WIND SHIFT LINE DROPPING S THRU THE AREA TNGT. THIS IS
NOT THE FRONT BUT IS LIKELY A WIND SHIFT DUE TO A CONVECTIVE
BOUNDARY MOVING THRU THE REGION. CONVECTION MAY FIRE OVR PA THIS AFT
AND EVE THEN DROP SEWD THRU THE AREA. MODEL POPS NOT TOO THRILLED
ABOUT PROSPECTS OF PCPN. HOWEVER...AIR MASS IS UNSTABLE AND
850-500MB LAPSE RATES STEEPEN. GIVEN THIS AND PREFRONTAL BOUNDARY
MOVING THROUGH...WILL HAVE 30 POPS FOR TSRA REMAINDER OF AFTRN AND
OVRNGT.

AIR MASS CONTINUES MOIST AND UNSTABLE SAT AND SAT NGT AS WEAKENING
FRONT REMAINS ALG THE MASON/DIXON LINE. ETA BUFKIT CAPES AROUND 1500
J/KG SAT AFTRN AND LIS ARE NEGATIVE. WILL KEEP LOW CHC POPS IN FCST
SAT INTO SAT NGT. THINK CONVECTION WILL BE MAINLY DURING THE AFT AND
EARLY EVE SAT BUT WILL NOT PLAY WITH TIMING ATTM.

850MB TEMPS DO NOT CHG MUCH THRU SAT NGT. HOWEVER...CLOUDINESS WILL
CUT BACK ON HEATING JUST A FEW DEG ON SAT FROM TDAS READINGS.
OVRNGT HEAT INDICES SHOULD DROP BELOW 80F TNGT AND THEY WILL BE NEAR
OR ON THE THRESHOLD (100F) OF ADVISORY CRITERIA ON SAT. FOR
NOW...WILL LET THE HEAT ADVISORY EXPIRE AT 8 PM AND MID SHIFT CAN
RE-EVALUATE SITUATION FOR SAT AND RE-ISSUE IF NEEDED.

NGM/AVN MOS CLOSE. ETA MOS A BIT WARMER ON MAX TEMPS. WENT WITH A
BLEND OF GUIDANCE.

WALSTON

---------------------------------------------------------------------

LONG-TERM DISCUSSION

SUNDAY
UPPER RIDGE WILL DOMINATE THE CNTRL US TO THE MID ATLANTIC
REGION THRU MONDAY.  TEMPS WILL CONTINUE TO BE HOT WITH LITTLE IF
ANY CHANCE OF PRECIP.

(MON-FRI) MEDIUM RANGE MODELS CONTINUE TO ADVERTISE INCREASED
AMPLITUDE TO THE WRN TROF/CNTRL RIDGE BEGINNING MONDAY.  THIS
RESULTS IN DOWNSTREAM TROF AMPLIFICATION OVER ERN NOAM TUESDAY.
ASSOCIATED COLD FRONT WILL APPROACH THE AREA MONDAY EVENING AND MOVE
SOUTH OF THE AREA BY TUESDAY AFTERNOON. HAVE 30 POPS FOR NOW FOR
MONDAY AFTERNOON THRU TUESDAY. MORE PLEASANT WX WED-FRI WITH COOLER
AND DRIER AIR.

ROSA

.LWX...
DC...HEAT ADVISORY UNTIL 800 PM EDT FRIDAY FOR ZONE DCZ001.
MD...HEAT ADVISORY UNTIL 800 PM EDT FRIDAY FOR ZONES
     MDZ002>007...MDZ009>011...MDZ013>014...MDZ016>018.
VA...HEAT ADVISORY UNTIL 800 PM EDT FRIDAY FOR ZONES
     VAZ025>031...VAZ036>042...VAZ050>057.
WV...HEAT ADVISORY UNTIL 700 PM EDT FRIDAY FOR ZONES
     WVZ048>053...WVZ055.

The radar

The Sterling radar (KLWX), 126 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 21:42 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 thunderstorm wind, 1 hail. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Allegany

When: August 2, 4:45 PM EST
Where: Allegany County, 3 mi W of Flintstone
Measured: 1.5 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 39.700, -78.617

Ping pong sized hail covered Interstate 68.

Thunderstorm Wind, Baltimore

When: August 2, 6:48 PM EST to 7:00 PM EST
Where: Baltimore County, North Portion
Property damage: $40,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 39.667, -76.700

Numerous trees were downed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Harford

When: August 2, 7:12 PM EST
Where: Harford County, Northwest Portion
Property damage: $5,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 39.667, -76.500

Trees and wires were downed.

What these are

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 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Maryland, August 2002

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: 5314392, 5314393, 5314394.