Tornadoes in Maryland, June 5, 2024

Radar data from KLWX WSR-88D radar in Sterling as well as the FAA Terminal Doppler Weather Radar for Washington Dulles International Airport (TIAD), paired with video from a trained spotter, confirms a tornado touched down for several minutes over|open fields adjacent to King Road near Boonsboro. The tornado lifted and touched down several times per the spotter`s video over several minutes while moving slowly north-northeast. The tornado touchdowns remained over open fields with no visible damage left in its wake.

National Weather Service Baltimore/Washington Weather Forecast Office staff conducted a ground survey of storm damage that occurred in central Montgomery County MD on the evening of Wednesday, June 5, 2024.

A mini-supercell thunderstorm formed southeast of Leesburg, VA, near the Potomac River. Montgomery County Emergency Management reported multiple trees down just east of the Potomac River along Elmer School Road, River Road, and Edwards Ferry Road. An eyewitness reported a tornado at a vineyard near West Willard Road. Numerous trellises were snapped and a shipping container weighing approximately 9,000 pounds was partially lifted off the ground then bounced twice over the course of 100 yards. Significant divots were in the ground, as well as damage to telephone poles from the container being lifted. Damage surveyed was at Tudor Farm along Whites Ferry Road (MD-107). About 2 dozen pine trees with trunk diameter exceeding two feet were snapped or uprooted at this location, laying in various directions. Media reported collapse of doors to a barn on the property. From this location, additional damage was located in the vicinity of the 16000 block of Darnestown Road (MD-28). Here, about a dozen softwood trees were snapped and uprooted, falling in differing directions. These downed trees caused the closure of Darnestown Road for a period of time. The tornado continued on the ground for about 0.5 miles, where additional damage was observed along and near White Ground Road. Here, many pine trees were snapped, with one pine tree debarked of about half of its bark on its remaining trunk.

The tornado track shifted northeast where several trees were uprooted around the Seneca Creek State Park before finally dissipating as it headed northeast.

The tornado began just east of the Seneca Creek State Park. Staff at the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commissions (WSSC) Seneca Water Resource Recovery Facility witnessed the tornado moving west-to-east directly adjacent to the south of their facility where power lines leading to the facility were snapped causing the facility to|switch to backup power. After its trek south of the facility, it produced large broken branches that fell onto Great Seneca Highway (MD-119), partially blocking the roadway.

The storm continued east and entered the City of Gaithersburg. The first damage surveyed was along Desellum Avenue north of Gaithersburg High School. Here, pine trees were snapped, with large limbs downed. A pair softwood trees, approximately 30 yards apart, were snapped and fell directly towards each other, evidence of a tornado. The storm proceeded towards Old Town Gaithersburg, depositing a large limb on top of St. Martin of Tours Church at the intersection of South Summit Avenue and South Frederick Avenue (MD-355). The housing development directly east of the Gaithersburg City Hall was particularly hard-hit, with seven houses being condemned from trees and branches falling onto them. One large oak tree with a trunk of about three feet was uprooted, and fell into a house on Dogwood Drive, where five occupants were injured and transported to the hospital. Several other trees were uprooted including one in the 200 block of Rolling Road, along with numerous large branches downed. One resident interviewed said they heard the Tornado Warning on their phone about three minutes before damage occurred near them. Once notified, their family took action to go to the basement of their home to remain safe.

Video recorded the tornado moving east, north of the Intercounty Connector (ICC/MD-200) near Redland. Additional tree damage was reported by Montgomery County Emergency Management and trained weather spotters between Redland and Olney. The Sandy Spring Volunteer Fire Department reported trees down near Sandy Spring. Additional trees were down just east of Ashton per Montgomery County Emergency Management.

This was the last area of concentrated damage in Montgomery County.

Staff from the National Weather Service Baltimore/Washington Weather Forecast Office worked with Carroll County Emergency Management and trained weather spotters to confirm a tornado near the Carroll County Regional Airport occurred on Wednesday evening, June 5, 2024. The tornado touched down around Carroll County Regional Airport before moving east-northeast into the Bear Branch neighborhood. This was verified by video taken from a resident within the area along with NWS Doppler Radar in Sterling, Virginia that showed rotation within a thunderstorm. Overall damage was|sparse and brief within the tornado aside from a few trees down and minor structural damage to residences in Bear Branch. It appears that the tornado lifted before reaching Miller Road, as no additional damage was noted.

On the evening of Wednesday, June 5, 2024, a tornado that had peak damage along its path of 120mph or EF2 category, touched down 2 miles north-northwest of Eldersburg, Maryland. The National Weather Service conducted a damage survey and noted an initial area of tree damage near the intersection of Tanglewood Drive and Covington Court. A rotational damage signature was evident as tree damage was pointed in opposite directions.

The tornadic storm continued its track toward the northeast with additional damage observed along Bartholow Road near Sarah Drive. This included multiple large trees which were uprooted, one of which fell onto a house. Further damage was noted up the road just north of the intersection of Bartholow Road and Cherry Tree Lane. Dozens of trees had large sections and branches snapped off and topped. Observed tree damage was spread out into multiple directions. Drone footage passed along by a trained|spotter showed hundreds of hardwood and softwood trees that were snapped near the western shore of Liberty Reservoir, behind Cherry Tree Lane.

Later, the tornado passed over Morgan Run before causing additional damage to the Lakeland Heights area. A home was seen with siding and shingle damage and a small section of roof removed near Sun Berry Court and Lake Forest Court. Multiple large|broken tree branches were noted behind the home. Drone footage showed hundreds of hardwood and softwood trees snapped in an area of forest to the northwest of Lake Forest Court. A few trees were damaged along Legacy Drive.

The damage signature to the northeast became more intermittent in nature as the tornado began to weaken. By 8:11 PM EDT, the final damage point was noted about 1 mile northeast of Gamber MD. Along Pin Oak Drive, a mid-sized tree was uprooted with multiple downed tree branches. Thereafter, the circulation dissipated while approaching MD State Route 140. No damage was noted along Route 140. A circulation evident on NWS Doppler weather radar corroborated this track as well.

Update: additional photos (areal and ground) were provided by a resident of damage in the forest along Liberty Reservoir. Based on those pictures, the peak wind of this tornado was raised from 110mph to 120mph on that point in the path. Most of the trees along the path through the woods were snapped down, and some were debarked.

On the evening of Wednesday, June 5, 2024, a tornado that had peak damage along its path of 120mph or EF2 category, touched down 2 miles north-northwest of Eldersburg, Maryland. The National Weather Service conducted a damage survey and noted an initial area of tree damage near the intersection of Tanglewood Drive and Covington Court. A rotational damage signature was evident as tree damage was pointed in opposite directions.

The tornadic storm continued its track toward the northeast with additional damage observed along Bartholow Road near Sarah Drive. This included multiple large trees which were uprooted, one of which fell onto a house. Further damage was noted up the road just north of the intersection of Bartholow Road and Cherry Tree Lane. Dozens of trees had large sections and branches snapped off and topped. Observed tree damage was spread out into multiple directions. Drone footage passed along by a trained|spotter showed hundreds of hardwood and softwood trees that were snapped near the western shore of Liberty Reservoir, behind Cherry Tree Lane.

Later, the tornado passed over Morgan Run before causing additional damage to the Lakeland Heights area. A home was seen with siding and shingle damage and a small section of roof removed near Sun Berry Court and Lake Forest Court. Multiple large|broken tree branches were noted behind the home. Drone footage showed hundreds of hardwood and softwood trees snapped in an area of forest to the northwest of Lake Forest Court. A few trees were damaged along Legacy Drive.

The damage signature to the northeast became more intermittent in nature as the tornado began to weaken. By 8:11 PM EDT, the final damage point was noted about 1 mile northeast of Gamber MD. Along Pin Oak Drive, a mid-sized tree was uprooted with multiple downed tree branches. Thereafter, the circulation dissipated while approaching MD State Route 140. No damage was noted along Route 140. A circulation evident on NWS Doppler weather radar corroborated this track as well.

Update: additional photos (areal and ground) were provided by a resident of damage in the forest along Liberty Reservoir. Based on those pictures, the peak wind of this tornado was raised from 110mph to 120mph on that point in the path. Most of the trees along the path through the woods were snapped down, and some were debarked.

National Weather Service Baltimore/Washington Weather Forecast Office staff conducted a ground survey of storm damage that occurred in the Long Reach village of Columbia, MD, on the evening of Wednesday, June 5, 2024.

Damage was reported in Columbia, MD, in Long Reach village at Phelps Luck Drive, along High Tor Hill, and the 5600 block of Waterloo Road.

The first report of damage was at Phelps Luck Drive. A townhouse development near the intersection of High Tor Hill and Tamar Drive experienced concentrated tornadic damage. Here, approximately two dozen trees were snapped or uprooted, falling in various directions. About a dozen cars parked in the townhouse community parking lot were damaged by trees or large limbs falling onto them. Roofing fascia was peeled off of one townhome. Damage was more intermittent but present heading north toward the 5600 block of High Tor Hill. Finally, tree damage was also reported at the 5600 block of Waterloo Road.

NWS Doppler Weather Radar in Sterling, Virginia showed a rotating thunderstorm that developed a tornado based on this survey. Weather spotters and residents reported a tornado touchdown in the vicinity of the I-95 and I-195 interchange around 8:45 PM EDT. This was confirmed with ground reports of several large tree trunks twisted|and snapped in the vicinity of Riverchase Apartments along Selford Road and Deer Run Court. The tornado continued east northeast along a narrow path toward Friendship Road and Francis Ave. Multiple trees and wires were down along this route in a confluent pattern. The most notable was a large oak tree snapped midway up the trunk. The tree ended up laying in the north-northeast direction onto two cars and a house nearby. An additional large oak tree and its root ball were laying 500 feet nearby closing off Friendship Road. Beyond this point, the tornado continued east northeast between Francis Avenue and Ingate Terrace. Additional large trees were sheared off along with large root balls toppled. Numerous power and phone lines were down as well with BGE and Verizon crews assessing and repairing the damage. Similar damage was observed as the tornado moved east southeast toward Elm and Oakland Road. Several large trees were snapped midway along Elm Road, Huntsmoor Road, Oakland Road, and Ashbourne Road. Wires were down as well with one power pole twisted|at its base at the intersection of Oakland Road and Elm Road.

Beyond this point the path widened a bit with two medium spruce trees down along Oregon Avenue and several large branches along Carville Avenue. The tornado proceeded to lift and cycle as it crossed US-1 at I-95 and Potomac Avenue around 8:48 PM EDT. The storm continued 1.4 miles east northeast toward Halethorpe, MD where|an additional touchdown was noted around 8:50 PM EDT. This was confirmed with several damage reports in the vicinity of the 3600 block of Commerce Drive and Washington Boulevard and Lansdowne Road. Multiple trees were snapped along a narrow path from the Home Depot over toward Alside Building Materials and Amazon HQ. The most notable damage was along Robert A Young Way between Alside Products and Amazon HQ. Four heavy overhead doors were blown out of the distribution warehouse along with pieces of the awning and roofing material removed from the Alside building. Several trees were also sheared at the canopy top within this same area. Additional large trees were taken down behind the LA-Fitness and Store-it storage facility along Washington Boulevard. After this point, the tornado crossed into Baltimore City.

After initially touching down outside city limits, tree damage was evident from a distance along a small ridgeline that extended from the end of Hilltop Avenue to West Patapsco Avenue parallel to the B and O Railroad nearby. The tornado continued|past this point, twisting and snapping the trunks of several medium to large hardwood trees along Nieman Avenue. The most notable damage was just before the tornado lifted at Overflo Warehouse LLC. Large pieces of the warehouse roofing material were|peeled back along with pieces of flashing. Radar indicated the circulation clearing this point and lifting at the back of Nieman Avenue around 8:57 PM EDT.

Staff from the National Weather Service Baltimore/Washington Weather Forecast Office conducted a ground survey of storm damage in Baltimore, MD that occurred on Wednesday evening, June 5, 2024. A tornado touched down around Anchorage Promenade park before moving east-northeast into the Canton neighborhood. This|was verified by video taken from a resident within the area. Overall damage was sparse and brief within the tornado which aligns with what we saw on ground. This included small branches less than one inch in diameter and small signs that were tossed at the intersection of Hudson Street and South Luzerne Avenue. The most notable damage was a large pine tree that was broken about half way up on the tree along Fait Avenue. Several large branches and trash cans were also tossed at the Hatton Senior Center which was the area where the tree and branches were snapped. A tree was uprooted along Foster Avenue along with an awning that was blown off. A stop sign was also tilted on its side. NWS Doppler Radar in Sterling, Virginia and the Terminal Doppler Weather Radar at BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport showed a circulation that corroborated the tornado reports. It appears that the tornado lifted before reaching the Highlandtown neighborhood as no additional damage was noted.

National Weather Service Baltimore/Washington Forecast Office staff conducted a ground survey of storm damage that occurred in southeast Baltimore County on Wednesday, June 05, 2024.

NWS Doppler Weather Radar in Sterling, Virginia showed a rotating thunderstorm that developed a tornado based on the survey. The circulation developed just to the south of Essex, MD shortly before 9:25 PM EDT before racing northeast and strengthening toward Martin State Airport around 9:27 PM EDT. This is where a notable debris|signature started to show up on radar as the storm pushed north-northeast. This signature was confirmed with ground reports of fencing damage near a warehouse across from Martin State Airport, and multiple mobile homes damaged in the Williams Estates area as the strongest winds pushed through. The damage path was fairly|narrow and short lived. Most of the damage included the removal of underpinning from several single and double wide mobile homes in the Williams Estates community. This included several mobile homes along Wagon Train Road and Roundup Road as well as Cowhide Circle. Carports, sheds, and a trampoline were tossed around the neighborhood as well.

Several trees were also snapped and turned in several different directions along Roundup Road and Cowhide Circle. The most notable damage was between Dahlia Lane and Roundup Road. This where the height of the circulation looks to take place right|around 9:28 PM EDT. Within this area there were two double wide mobile homes with significant damage. One of the mobile homes had underpinning removed from two sides of the building with the windows completely blown out and a shed tossed 50 yards in the opposite direction from its foundation. The resident who owns this home had roughly 30 seconds of video showing the tornado as it passed through. He recalled a loud boom which was most likely the shed being tossed from the foundation to the other side of the residence. Pieces of the shed and other debris were impinged into the side of the mobile home as well. The neighboring double wide mobile home was also missing a majority of its underpinning along with several shingles and shingle material off the roof of the structure. Strapping on both units appeared to be secured with no other distinct structural damage to be observed.

Beyond this point, the tornado continued toward Roundup Road and Cowhide Circle where the path widened. Much of the same damage was noted, but to a lesser extent with underpinning and shingles removed from several mobile homes in the area. The tornado continued toward the back of Cowhide Circle where it eventually lifted. No additional damage was found beyond this point nor any injuries reported.