Damaging Winds in Maryland, July 9, 2002

Name: Damaging Winds in Maryland, July 9, 2002
Start: 2002-07-09T17:22
End: 2002-07-09T20:00
Location: Maryland

July 9, 2002 · NWS LWX · 9 events in 7 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 1 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: 10
Property damage: $181,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 9

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 downpours and damaging winds moved through Central Maryland between 6 PM and 9:30 PM EDT on the 9th. In Washington County, a wind gust of 61 MPH was recorded just northeast of Smithsburg. Light tree damage was noted in the vicinity. In Frederick County, trees were downed in Frederick where a wind gust of 48 MPH was recorded. One fallen tree damaged four cars on North Market Street. The communities of Mount Airy, Thurmont, Braddock Heights, and Frederick reported power outages. In Carroll County, gusty winds and driving rain toppled several tents at a community festival in Winfield. Ten people were injured. Wind gusts were estimated between 40 and 50 MPH. In Anne Arundel County, numerous trees and electrical wires were downed in the central and northern portion of the county. Communities affected by the high winds included Maryland City, Glen Burnie, Waugh Chapel, Odenton, Orchard Beach, Annapolis, Linthicum, Marley Park, Harmon's Dorsey, Arnold, Harold Harbor, Riva, Lake Shore, and Crofton. A wind gust of 49 MPH was recorded at the Naval Academy in Annapolis and a gust of 48 MPH was measured at BWI Airport. In Baltimore County, hundreds of trees and some power lines were downed between Reisterstown and Dundalk. Officials in Baltimore City received 50 calls regarding downed trees. A wind gust of 48 MPH was recorded on the University of Maryland's Baltimore Campus. A wind gust of 62 MPH forced a 20 minute closure of the Key Bridge (Interstate 695) as the storms moved through. In the Baltimore metro area, around 70,000 customers lost power as a direct result of the storm. In Harford County, trees were downed in Joppa and Bel Air.

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 9, 2:30 PM EST, 2 hours 52 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 9, 2:30 PM EST, 2 hours 52 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE/WASHINGTON
330 PM EDT TUE JUL 9 2002

...SHORT TERM (TONIGHT-WED NGT)...

12Z MDLS MORE IN LINE THAN PREVIOUS RUNS WITH TIMING OF COLD FRONT
THAT WILL BE MOVING THROUGH THE REGION TONIGHT. BOTH THE 12Z ETA AND
AVN ARE IN LINE WITH THE AVN PICKING UP THE TIMING OF THE FRONT.
E-W-ORIENTED FRONTS TYPICALLY LAG A LITTLE...BUT THE CENTER OF HIGH
PRES OVER THE ERN GRT LAKES...1026 MB...IS PRETTY STRONG FOR THIS
TIME OF YEAR. ANY HIGH CENTER OF 1020 OR GREATER WILL NEARLY ALWAYS
PUSH A FRONT WELL S OF THE REGION...AS WILL BE THE CASE TONIGHT.

UNFORTUNATELY...OUR RAIN CHANCES STILL LOOK PRETTY SLIM...ALTHOUGH
FOR THIS PCKG I UPPPED THE POPS TO LKLY FOR TONIGHT OWING WHAT IS ON
RADAR NOW. THERE WILL BE NARROW LINES OF RW/TRW OVERNIGHT. ONE
INSTABLILITY AREA IS OVER W-CNTRL VA ATTM. THIS AREA WILL MOVE AWAY
FROM THE CWA SHORTLY. THEN A SECOND INSTABILITY LINE AHEAD OF THE
FRONT WAS JUST CROSSING THE OH RIVER INTO WV/PA. IT REMAINS
UNCERTAIN HOW MUCH SUPPORT THIS LINE WILL HAVE BY THE TIME IT MAKES
IT INTO OUR WRN ZNS LATER THIS EVENING. SFC DEW PTS HAVE RECOVERED
INTO THE U60S E OF THE BLUE RIDGE THIS AFTERNOON AND WL REMAIN THERE
OVERNIGHT.

FOR WED...HV DROPPED POPS OVER THE NRN 2/3RDS OF THE REGION BUT KEPT
A 30 CHC ACROSS THE SRN AREA THROUGH THE MORNING. DRIER AIR WL THEN
FILTER INTO THE REGION WED AFTN. TEMPS WL BE COOLER ON WED BY ABOUT
2 CATEGORIES.

WED NIGHT...JUST A FEW HIGH CLDS...AND WITH RELATIVELY DRY AIR IN
PLACE EXPECT TEMPS TO BE ON THE COOL SIDE COMPARED TO CLIMO.

SMZ

THU THRU TUE...

DRY NW FLOW WL BE OVR MID ATLC RGN THU AND THU NGT AS SFC HIGH PRES
BLDS SE INTO THE AREA. INFLUX OF COOL AIR FM THE N WL KEEP TEMPS BLO
NORMAL. GUIDANCE PROGS MAXES ONLY IN U70S ON THU. COOLG WL BE OFFSET
BY M/S SKIES HOWEVER SO WL CONT PREV FCST OF TEMPS IN L80S. LGT WNDS
AND SKC THU NIGHT WL PERMIT DECENT TEMP FALL SO LOWERED MINS INTO
L50S FAR W AND M50S ELSW.

LEFT RMNDR OF EXTENDED FCST UNCHGD. MOISTURE WL BGN INCRG OVR THE
AREA AGN LATE FRI AS UPR FLOW BCMS SW AHD OF S/W OVR MIDWEST. WAA
MOVS OVR RGN FRI NGT AND SAT AHD OF LOW PRES IN TN VLLY. PC FCST FOR
FRI W/L80S STILL LUKS RSNBL...W/NXT CHC FOR PCPN OVR THE WEEKEND.
PCPN MAY MOV OUT OF FA SUN MORN BUT WL WAIT FOR FUTURE MDL RUNS BFR
FINE TUNING THE TIMING.

DRY WX WL RETURN FOR MON AND TUE AS UPR RDG BLDS OVR AREA BHND
DEPARTING S/W.

ARTHUR

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

The radar

The Sterling radar (KLWX), 77 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 22:22 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

9 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Washington

When: July 9, 5:22 PM EST
Where: Washington County, 2 mi NE of Smithsburg
Measured: 53 kt (61 mph)
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 39.667, -77.550

A wind gust of 61 MPH was recorded.

Thunderstorm Wind, Frederick

When: July 9, 6:15 PM EST
Where: Frederick County, Frederick
Property damage: $2,000
Reported by: AMATEUR RADIO
Coordinates: 39.417, -77.417

Trees were downed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Carroll

When: July 9, 6:30 PM EST
Where: Carroll County, Winfield
Injuries: 10 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $5,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 39.563, -77.022 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Gusty winds and driving rain toppled several tents, resulting in injuries to 10 people.

Thunderstorm Wind, Anne Arundel

When: July 9, 7:09 PM EST to 7:40 PM EST
Where: Anne Arundel County, North Portion
Property damage: $50,000
Reported by: FIRE DEPT/RESCUE SQUAD
Coordinates: 39.133, -76.633

Numerous trees and wires were downed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Baltimore

When: July 9, 7:10 PM EST to 7:40 PM EST
Where: Baltimore County, Reisterstown
Property damage: $100,000
Reported by: FIRE DEPT/RESCUE SQUAD
Coordinates: 39.467, -76.833

Hundreds of trees and some power lines were downed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Baltimore City (C)

When: July 9, 7:30 PM EST
Where: Baltimore City (C) County, Baltimore
Property damage: $20,000
Reported by: FIRE DEPT/RESCUE SQUAD
Coordinates: 39.300, -76.617

Fifty calls for downed trees were received by county officials.

Thunderstorm Wind, Baltimore

When: July 9, 7:30 PM EST
Where: Baltimore County, 1 mi S of Dundalk
Measured: 54 kt (62 mph)
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 39.250, -76.517

Wind gusts of up to 62 MPH forced the closure of the Key Bridge (Interstate 695) for 20 minutes.

Thunderstorm Wind, Harford

When: July 9, 7:55 PM EST
Where: Harford County, Joppa
Property damage: $2,000
Reported by: FIRE DEPT/RESCUE SQUAD
Coordinates: 39.433, -76.367

Trees were downed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Harford

When: July 9, 8:00 PM EST
Where: Harford County, Bel Air
Property damage: $2,000
Reported by: FIRE DEPT/RESCUE SQUAD
Coordinates: 39.533, -76.350

Trees were downed.

What these are

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, July 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: 5308368, 5308369, 5308451, 5308452, 5308453, 5308454, 5308455, 5308456, 5308457.