Strong Wind in Maryland, March 21 to 22, 2002

Name: Strong Wind in Maryland, March 21 to 22, 2002
Start: 2002-03-21T17:00
End: 2002-03-22T04:00
Location: Maryland

March 21 to 22, 2002 · NWS LWX · 14 events in 14 counties and zones

A strong arctic cold front pushed through the region during the evening of the 21st. This front ushered in strong northwest winds that gusted as high as 59 MPH.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 10 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: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 14

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 strong arctic cold front pushed through the region during the evening of the 21st. This front ushered in strong northwest winds that gusted as high as 59 MPH. The highest winds occurred between 6 PM and 11 PM, but gusty conditions continued through 4 AM on the 22nd. Minor structural damage was reported in isolated locations, in addition to downed trees and power lines. Over 5000 power outages were reported across the Washington and Baltimore suburbs. A wind warning was posted for the Chesapeake Bay Bridge near Annapolis. Measured wind gusts included 59 MPH at Parkton (Baltimore County), 56 MPH at Smithsburg (Washington County), 51 MPH at the University of Maryland - Baltimore Campus, 50 MPH at Tall Timbers (St. Mary's County), 47 MPH at Hagerstown, 46 MPH in Laurel (Howard County) and in downtown Baltimore, 45 MPH at Patuxent River Naval Air Station (St. Mary's County), and 41 MPH at BWI Airport.

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 Mar 21, 2:15 PM EST, 2 hours 45 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 21, 2:15 PM EST, 2 hours 45 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE/WASHINGTON
215 PM EST THU MAR 21 2002

...SHORT TERM...TONIGHT THROUGH FRI...

...HERE COMES WINTER...JUST IN TIME FOR SPRING...

HIGH AMPLITUE PATTERN WILL DEVELOP TONIGHT AND FRI AS SHORTWAVE
ENERGY OVR THE GTLKS DIVES SOUTHEASTWARD CARVING OUT THE ERN U.S.
TROF. PATTERN WILL DEAMPLIFY A BIT BY SUN.

SHORTWAVE OVR THE GTLKS WILL MOVE TO NEW ENG/MID ATLC STATES LATE
TNGT. THE ASSOCD ARCTIC CDFNT WILL RAPIDLY MOVE THRU THE AREA THIS
EVE. HIGH PRES BUILDS INTO THE AREA LATE TNGT AND FRI...PASSING BY
TO OUR S FRI NIGHT THEN OFFSHR ON SAT.

GULF AND ATLC ARE CUT OFF AND THE CDFNT IS MOISTURE STARVED. WILL
LEAVE A LOW POP FOR THE MENTION OF A SHRA FAR WRN RDGS THIS EVE BUT
NOTHING E OF THE RDGS. NOTHING MORE THAN SOME MID DECK EXPECTED E OF
THE RDGS.

CYCLONIC FLOW AT 850MB...UPSLOPE AND STRONG CAA WILL RESULT IN SHSN
LATE TNGT AND FRI ON THE WRN RDGS SO WILL HAVE CHC POPS IN THAT
AREA. WILL HOLD ACCUMS DOWN TO AROUND AN INCH ON THE RIDGETOPS TNGT
AND AGAIN FRI. E OF THE RDGS...STRONG DOWNSLOPING SO NOTHING MORE
THAN SOME SCT STRATOCU LATE TNGT AND ON FRI. 850MB FLOW BECOMES MORE
WRLY FRI NGT AND SAT AND WAA DEVELOPS AT 850MB SO THIS WILL CUT OFF
ANY SHSN ACTIVITY. WILL GO WITH P/CLDY FAR WRN RDGS FRI NIGHT AND
CLR ELSEWHERE. SUNNY ALL ZNS ON SAT.

TWO CONCERNS WITH THIS PACKAGE...WIND AND FREEZE.

850MB WINDS INCREASE TO 40 KTS AND ETA MODEL FCSTG 6 HR PRES RISES
OF 10MB 06Z TNGT. THIS ALONG WITH CAA WILL MIX THE WIND DOWN TO THE
SFC. WILL BE ISSUING A WIND ADVY FOR ALL ZNS FOR TNGT. ON
FRI...SUNSHINE SHOULD RESULT IN GOOD MIXING BUT 850MB WINDS WEAKEN.
IT SHOULD STILL BE WINDY...BUT WE MAY NOT REACH ADVY CRITERIA. WILL
LEAVE THAT DECISION FOR THE MID SHIFT.

SECOND CONCERN IS FREEZING TEMPS. A CHECK WITH AG OFFICES AROUND THE
CWA INDICATE FRUIT TREES AND OTHER CROPS ARE ABOUT 1 TO 3 WEEKS
AHEAD OF SCHEDULE THANKS TO OUR WARM WINTER. THEY INDICATE BUDS ON
SOME FRUIT TREES COULD BE DAMAGED IF TEMPS DROP INTO THE 20S.
DESPITE GOOD MIXING...STG CAA WILL SEND TEMPS TNGT INTO THE MID AND
UPR 20S NW AREAS SO WILL BE ISSUING A FREEZE WARNING FOR THAT AREA.
OF MORE CONCERN WILL BE FRI NIGHT. MOS HAS TEMPS DROPPING INTO THE
TEENS NW AND 20S ELSEWHERE. SFC HIGH WILL PASS TO THE S SO BOUNDARY
LYR WINDS STAY UP. HOWEVER... EXPECT SOME AREAS MAY DECOUPLE...SUCH
AS VALLEYS AND LOW SPOTS. NGM/AVN MOS NUMBERS LOOK GOOD AND ANOTHER
WARNING WILL LIKELY BE NEEDED FOR THE ENTIRE CWA FRI NGT.

AS FAR AS DAYTIME HIGHS ARE CONCERNED...850MB TEMPS DROP TO -16C TO
-18C FRI ONLY WARMING TO -12C TO -14C BY LATE IN THE DAY. STRONG
MARCH SUN WILL DO ITS BEST TO WARM US UP BUT CANT SEE TEMPS HIGHER
THAN MOS NUMBERS. WARMER ON SAT AS WE GET RETURN FLOW ON THE
BACKSIDE OF THE SFC HIGH.

ONE LAST NOTE...WIND CHILLS TONIGHT IN THE TEENS BY DAYBREAK AND IN
THE UPR 20S TO MID 30S ON FRI.

WALSTON

...LONGER TERM...SAT NGT THROUGH NEXT THU...
SAT NIGHT AND SUNDAY SHOULD BE PC WITH A CONTINUED SLOW REBOUND TO
TEMPS.

THEN THE MRF SETS UP AN E/W STATNRY FRONT DRAPED ACRS THE REGION
WITH WEAK SFC WVS MVG ALG THE BNDRY...SIMILAR TO THE UKMET/CANADIAN
AND ECMWF ENSEMBLES SOLNS. THIS WOULD ALLOW FOR A STRONGER HIGH THAT
BUILDS DOWN THE EAST COAST... SETTING UP SOME CAD IN ADVCE OF A LOW
THAT WOULD MOVE TWDS THE AREA LATE TUES...KEEPING THE REGION COOLER
AND WETTER. BY DAYS 6 AND 7 WL GO WITH THE MORE PROGRESSION TROF
THRU REGION. THE MRF DOES TRY TO DEVELOP A SYSTEM TUES AND BRINGS IT
UP THE COAST OVER THE FA WEDNESDAY...BUT WL NOT BUY IN THAT AT THIS
TIME.

ND

.LWX...
DC...WIND ADVISORY FOR TONIGHT FOR ZONE DCZ001.
MD...FREEZE WARNING FOR TONIGHT FOR ZONES MDZ002>005.
     WIND ADVISORY FOR TONIGHT FOR ZONES MDZ002>007...MDZ009>011
     ...MDZ013>014...MDZ016>018.
VA...FREEZE WARNING FOR TONIGHT FOR ZONES VAZ021...VAZ025>031
     ...VAZ038>042...VAZ051.
     WIND ADVISORY FOR TONIGHT FOR ZONES VAZ021...VAZ025>031
     ...VAZ036>042...VAZ050>057.
WV...FREEZE WARNING FOR TONIGHT FOR ZONES WVZ048>055.
     WIND ADVISORY FOR TONIGHT FOR ZONES WVZ048>055.
MARINE...SCA.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

14 strong wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Strong Wind, Allegany

When: March 21, 5:00 PM EST to March 22, 4:00 AM EST
Where: Allegany forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Strong Wind, Washington

When: March 21, 5:00 PM EST to March 22, 4:00 AM EST
Where: Washington forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 39.604, -77.814 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Frederick

When: March 21, 5:00 PM EST to March 22, 4:00 AM EST
Where: Frederick forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 39.472, -77.398 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Carroll

When: March 21, 5:00 PM EST to March 22, 4:00 AM EST
Where: Carroll forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 39.563, -77.022 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Northern Baltimore

When: March 21, 5:00 PM EST to March 22, 4:00 AM EST
Where: Northern Baltimore forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 39.443, -76.616 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Southern Baltimore / Baltimore (C)

When: March 21, 5:00 PM EST to March 22, 4:00 AM EST
Where: Southern Baltimore / Baltimore (C) forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 39.367, -76.614 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Harford

When: March 21, 5:00 PM EST to March 22, 4:00 AM EST
Where: Harford forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Strong Wind, Howard

When: March 21, 5:00 PM EST to March 22, 4:00 AM EST
Where: Howard forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Strong Wind, Montgomery

When: March 21, 5:00 PM EST to March 22, 4:00 AM EST
Where: Montgomery forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Strong Wind, Prince Georges

When: March 21, 5:00 PM EST to March 22, 4:00 AM EST
Where: Prince Georges forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 38.830, -76.847 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Anne Arundel

When: March 21, 5:00 PM EST to March 22, 4:00 AM EST
Where: Anne Arundel forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 38.994, -76.568 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Calvert

When: March 21, 5:00 PM EST to March 22, 4:00 AM EST
Where: Calvert forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 38.535, -76.531 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Charles

When: March 21, 5:00 PM EST to March 22, 4:00 AM EST
Where: Charles forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 38.474, -77.013 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, St. Mary'S

When: March 21, 5:00 PM EST to March 22, 4:00 AM EST
Where: St. Mary'S forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 38.216, -76.529 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Strong Wind: Non-thunderstorm winds below high wind criteria that nonetheless caused damage or casualties.

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, March 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: 5287277, 5287278, 5287279, 5287280, 5287281, 5287282, 5287283, 5287284, 5287285, 5287286, 5287287, 5287288, 5287289, 5287290.