A strong cluster of thunderstorms moved across Northeast Maryland on the evening of the 14th. The storms downed trees and power lines, spawned a couple of weak tornadoes, and produced some very heavy rainfall.
Every event with a place to put it; 3 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
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.
The episode as NWS LWX wrote it up.
A strong cluster of thunderstorms moved across Northeast Maryland on the evening of the 14th. The storms downed trees and power lines, spawned a couple of weak tornadoes, and produced some very heavy rainfall. The downed trees and power lines lead to power outages for over 5000 customers. Storm surveys by NWS personnel confirmed two weak tornadoes, one in Frederick County and another in Harford County. The damage was confined uprooted and topped trees. Flash flooding was also an issue with these storms. The Department of Natural Resources State Forestry and Park service reported problems in Cunningham Falls State Park, Frederick County. Four to five inches of rain caused ditches to overflow, the Park's lakes to fill with debris, and the bridge on Catoctin Hollow Road to washout. Rocks State Park, Harford County, also reported water damage. Roads in Darlington, Pylesville, Norrisville, and Whiteford were closed due to water covering the roadways. Water rescues saved the lives of a 7 year old Frederick County and a Harford County couple. The child fell into a creek and was swept through a gully and drain pipe before the Fire and Rescue team saved him. The couple's jeep was stranded in high water and they had to be lifted out.
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 Jun 14, 1:30 PM EST, 3 hours earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE MD/WASHINGTON DC 230 PM EDT MON JUN 14 2004 .SHORT TERM(TONIGHT AND TUESDAY)... ISOLATED SHOWERS HAVE DEVELOPED ACROSS THE SW PORTION OF THE FORECAST AREA. EXPECT ACTIVITY TO CONTINUE TO INCREASE THROUGH THE LATE AFTERNOON AND EVENING HOURS. LITTLE IN THE WAY OF A FOCUSING MECHANISM FOR STORMS SO SCATTERED STORMS EXPECTED WITH A FEW PULSERS IN AREAS THAT CLEARED OUT EARLY. ACTIVITY WILL TAPER OFF AFTER SUNSET. WILL KEEP SLIGHT CHANCE POPS OVERNIGHT...BUT FEEL MOST OF THE OVERNIGHT ACTIVITY WILL BE ALONG THE NORTHERN FRINGE OR JUST NORTH OF THE FORECAST AREA. WEAK FRONTAL BOUNDARY WILL APPROACH ON TUESDAY. BY THE END OF THE DAY THE BOUNDARY SHOULD BE DRAPED ACROSS THE NORTHWEST ZONES. STEERING WINDS ON TUESDAY ARE VERY LIGHT...SO SOME AREAS MAY GET HEAVY RAINFALL DUE TO THE SLOW MOVING STORMS. && .AVIATION...AFTERNOON CONVECTION SHOULD BEGIN TO FIRE...WITH ALL TAFS IN A TEMPO FOR IFR VIS MAINLY 21-01. AS TS ACTIVITY DIES DOWN THIS EVENING...EXPECT POCKETS OF FOG WITH AREAS OF IFR/MVFR VIS AFTER 02-04Z. FOG FORECASTED TO BURN OFF BY 12Z UNDER MOSTLY SUNNY SKIES...FOLLOWED BY VFR CONDITIONS TILL 18Z. && .LONG TERM... CDFNT STALLS OUT OVR OR JUST N OF CWFA...PROVIDING FOCUSING MECHANISM FOR DIURNALLY DRIVEN TSRA. PLENTY OF MSTR AVBL W/ SW FLOW H8-5. PWAT CLOSE TO 2 INCHES...SO FLOOD THEAT EXISTS IF ECHOES DVLP AND TRAIN. H6-4 FLOW NOT ALL THAT STELLAR EITHER...GNLY LESS THAN 15 KT WED. H8 TEMPS 17C WED-THU...NOT FAR FM CRRNT VALUES. SO...DEGREE OF CLDCVR WL DETERMINE MAXT AND CNVCTV POTL. XPCT PTCLDY SKIES TO BEGIN DAY /THO PATCHY FOG IN HIGH DEWPTS MAY RSLT IN SOME MOCLDY-FOGGY SPOTS/...THEN AN INCREASE AS CU DVLP/GROW BY AFTN. OVRALL...ENUF CLDS SHUD BE ARND SO THAT DONT SEE TEMPS GETTING MUCH HIER WED-THU THAN THEY WL TMRW. WL AIM TWD SCT POPS EACH DAY... PLACING A LTL EMPHASIS ON THE AFTN-EVE PDS DUE TO INSTAB PRSNT. SFC WV MVG ALONG BNDRY MAY DIP FRNT A LTL FRTHR TO THE S. WL WAIT TO SEE HOW FUTURE RUNS HNDL THIS. && .XTNDD...THE MODELS HAVE SOME DIFFERING IDEAS AND WHERE THE FRONT WILL BE. THE MODELS WASH ANOTHER WEAK COLD FRONT OUT ON FRIDAY WITH A CONTINUING CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. THE MODELS HAVE A GOOD SIZE UPPER LOW ACROSS CENTRAL/EASTERN CANADA WITH IT SAGGING A BIT SOUTHWARD INTO THE NORTHEAST U.S. (FRIDAY THROUGH SUNDAY) WITH ANOTHER COLD FRONT PROGGED ACROSS THE REGION SATURDAY. && .LWX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... DC...NONE. MD...NONE. VA...NONE. WV...NONE. MARINE...NONE. SHORT TERM...CPW AVIATION...GRAF LONGER TERM...HTS/ND
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE MD/WASHINGTON DC 1145 AM EDT MON JUN 14 2004 DCZ001-MDZ002>007-009>011-013-014-016>018-VAZ021-025>031-036>042- 050>057-WVZ048>055-141602- ALBEMARLE VA-ALLEGANY MD-ANNE ARUNDEL MD- ARLINGTON/FALLS CHURCH/ALEXANDRIA VA-AUGUSTA VA-BERKELEY WV- CALVERT MD-CARROLL MD-CHARLES MD-CLARKE VA-CULPEPER VA- DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA DC-FAIRFAX VA-FAUQUIER VA-FREDERICK VA- FREDERICK MD-GRANT WV-GREENE VA-HAMPSHIRE WV-HARDY WV-HARFORD MD- HIGHLAND VA-HOWARD MD-JEFFERSON WV-KING GEORGE VA-LOUDOUN VA- MADISON VA-MINERAL WV-MONTGOMERY MD-MORGAN WV-NELSON VA- NORTHERN BALTIMORE MD-ORANGE VA-PAGE VA-PENDLETON WV- PRINCE GEORGES MD-PRINCE WILLIAM/MANASSAS/MANASSAS PARK VA- RAPPAHANNOCK VA-ROCKINGHAM VA-SHENANDOAH VA-SOUTHERN BALTIMORE MD- SPOTSYLVANIA VA-ST. MARYS MD-STAFFORD VA-WARREN VA-WASHINGTON MD- 408 AM EDT MON JUN 14 2004 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR MARYLAND WEST OF THE CHESAPEAKE BAY AND EAST OF GARRETT COUNTY...EASTERN WEST VIRGINIA...NORTHERN AND CENTRAL VIRGINIA AND WASHINGTON DC. .DAY ONE... SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP OVER THE AREA THIS AFTERNOON. ISOLATED STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE. THESE STORMS WILL HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO PRODUCE DAMAGING WINDS AND HAIL. STAY ALERT FOR POSSIBLE WATCHES AND WARNINGS THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... THUNDERSTORMS MAY BECOME STRONG TO SEVERE EARLY THIS WEEK. THIS AREA IS OUTLOOKED FOR A SLIGHT CHANCE OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS TUESDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED LATER TODAY.
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE MD/WASHINGTON DC 507 PM EDT MON JUN 14 2004 MDZ003-004-142301- FREDERICK MD-WASHINGTON MD- 507 PM EDT MON JUN 14 2004 VERY HEAVY RAINS AFFECTING EASTERN WASHINGTON COUNTY. AT 5:05 PM...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED THUNDERSTORMS WITH VERY HEAVY RAINS OVER SMITHBURG. RADAR HAS ESTIMATED AROUND AN INCH AND A HALF OF RAIN IN THE LAST HOUR. ANOTHER HALF TO AN INCH PER HOUR WILL BE POSSIBLE THROUGH 7:00 PM. . PEOPLE SHOULD REMAIN ALERT IN CASE FLASH FLOOD WARNINGS ARE ISSUED. ROSA
The Sterling radar (KLWX), 56 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 22:16 UTC.
5 thunderstorm wind, 3 flash flood, 2 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.
Flash flooding reported in the town of Thurmont. Several roads were closed and culvertsover flowed.
Three houses flooded on Wolfsville Road in Smithsburg. Debris and came down the mountain and blocked many nearby roads.
Numerous trees were uprooted or topped.
A weak tornado touched down just north of Woodsboro along Route 194. The tornado trackedsoutheast for about 4 miles and dissipated 1 mile northwest of Libertytown. Damage was confinedto uprooted and topped trees. Peak winds were estimated at 75 mph.
Trees down in Westminister.
Trees down on Blake Mill Road.
Numerous trees and power lines downed in northeast Harford County.
Trees down in Central Baltimore County.
A weak tornado touched down just northeast of Churchville, near the entrance of the Rolling Green Subdivision. The tornado tracked east. It uprooted and topped a few trees before lifting one mile east of Glenville Road. Peak winds were estimated at 60 mph.
Several bridges washed out in Northern Harford County, and many streams were out of their banks.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Maryland in 2004Every state in 2004This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Maryland, 2004Warnings in Maryland, June 2004
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: 5406451, 5406396, 5406399, 5406398, 5406397, 5406448, 5406450, 5406452, 5406453, 5406449.