F1 tornado, Dunkirk, Maryland, April 21, 2000

1. F040 to 72 mph

   Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.

2. F173 to 112 mphthis tornado

   Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.

3. F2113 to 157 mph

   Considerable damage. Roofs torn off well-built houses, frame homes shifted on their foundations, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, cars lifted off the ground.

4. F3158 to 206 mph

   Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.

5. F4207 to 260 mph

   Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.

6. F5261 to 318 mph

   Incredible damage. Strong frame houses swept off their foundations, car-sized missiles thrown more than 100 meters, steel-reinforced concrete badly damaged, high-rise buildings deformed.

7. Unrated

   The survey recorded a tornado but could not put a number on it, most often because it crossed open country and damaged nothing a rating can be read from.

Rating

F1

Date

April 21, 2000

Touchdown

3:40 PM EDT (19:40 UTC)

Path length

1.5 miles (2.4 km)

Path width

70 yards (64 m)

Deaths

0

Injuries

0

Property damage

$210,000

County

Calvert County

Touchdown point

38.700, -76.650

Lift-off point

38.700, -76.630

Record number

155

Low pressure passed directly over the Mid-Atlantic region on the 21st and spawned thunderstorms with winds in excess of 55 MPH, heavy rainfall, frequent lightning, and large hail. The strongest storm, a supercell, passed through Calvert County and spawned an F1 tornado about 1 mile southeast of Dunkirk. The tornado had a width of 75 yards, traveled on the ground for 1 1/2 miles and was responsible for over $200,000 worth of damage. The first building struck by the twister around 3:40 PM EDT was a private school under construction on Mt. Harmony Road about 1/2 mile east of Route 4. The tornado damaged 3 sections of an 8 to 10 ton reinforced brick wall and removed a 30 foot section of roof. Two windows on cars in a nearby parking lot were blown out. An old wooden barn about 600 yards from the school was also destroyed. The tornado moved east-northeast for about a mile, damaging trees and causing minor home damage along its path as it crossed through Cattertons Reach and Megatha Lane. The tornado dissipated near the intersection of Chesapeake Road West and Route 2 (Solomons Island Road) at 3:45 PM EDT. In addition to the tornado damage, a barn filled with farm equipment across from Mt. Harmony Elementary School near Dunkirk was destroyed by downburst winds. Also, Mid Bay buoy east of St. Leonard recorded a wind gust near 90 knots around 4:00 PM EDT as the same storm moved across the Chesapeake Bay. Before the supercell became tornadic near Dunkirk, it passed through northern Charles County. Winds in excess of 55 MPH produced over $50,000 worth of damage. At the intersection of Bensville Road and Courtney Drive west of Waldorf, straight line winds destroyed a two story home under construction around 3:05 PM. Quarter sized hail was reported and ten trees within one half mile of the home were also damaged. Quarter sized hail also fell in White Plains and Waldorf. A resident of St. Charles reported a funnel cloud at the intersection of St. Charles Parkway and Smallwood Drive at 3:07 PM EDT. Additional thunderstorms moved across Central Maryland between 2 and 7 PM EDT. In Prince George's County, a postal worker in Clinton was injured around 3:15 PM EDT when lightning struck near her. Pea sized hail was reported in Accokeek and Clinton. A motorist near College Park reported seeing a funnel cloud around 4:45 PM EDT. Nickel sized hail fell in Rosaryville. In Charles County, quarter sized hail fell in Lynnbrook around 6:00 PM EDT. Quarter sized hail was also reported in extreme northwest Calvert County around 6:15 PM EDT. In Montgomery County, quarter sized hail fell in Germantown, Rockville, and Wheaton. Dime sized hail fell in Layhill and Colesville, and half dollar sized hail fell in Gaithersburg. The volume of hail resulted in accumulations of 3 to 4 inches on lawns and roadways, with drifts up to 10 inches against buildings and fences. Trees were stripped of leaves, small dents were found on cars, and one neighborhood in Gaithersburg reported chipped paint on homes. In Howard County, golf ball sized hail fell in Columbia. In Baltimore County, pea sized hail was reported in Brookland at 5:43 PM EDT. In Washington County, quarter sized hail fell on the north side of Hagerstown and minor stream flooding was reported after heavy downpours in Hancock. Heavy rain and strong east winds over the Chesapeake Bay also led to tidal flooding in Annapolis Harbor on the morning of the 21st. Several roads near the City Dock area were flooded with up to 2 feet of water around high tide. Water poured over the seawall forcing police to barricade Dock Street and to close Compromise Street. Defense Highway which crosses a wetland flood plain was also flooded, and one vehicle had to be pulled out of the flood waters near Rutland Road.

A school, 2 cars, 2 barns, and several trees were damaged.

From NOAA NCEI's Storm Events Database, the narrative the local forecast office wrote for Storm Data.

No tornado warning for this county appears in the archive as in force at the moment the tornado touched down.

Every warning and watch covering the touchdown point that day, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service products. Lead time is measured from the issue of the warning in force to the touchdown time in the database, both of which were recorded to the minute by different people.

The Storm Prediction Center had this point in a Slight Risk. The outlook in force was issued at 16:20 UTC.

SPC's Day 1 convective outlook as it stood when the tornado began, read at the touchdown point. The same archive is on the radar archive.

The radiosonde launches on either side of the tornado, from the nearest station that was launching then, drawn and analyzed the way Storm Lab does: the same diagram, the same parcel and shear definitions SPC's mesoanalysis uses.

Andrews Afb (ADW), 23 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of airport observations.

The Sterling radar (KLWX), 80 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 19:40 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment, over the track

Reflectivity and velocity, decoded from the Level II archive in the browser. Volumes take a few seconds to open the first time.

The live radar over the trackEvery 2000 tornado in MarylandEvery tornado in Maryland since 1950Warnings in force in Maryland nowThe forecast where you are

Ratings are the survey's, read off the damage rather than measured; the rating scale is above. Tornado counts rise through the record as reporting improved, so a year in the 1950s is not comparable with one today except for the strongest tornadoes, which were always noticed.

NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025, the official record kept by NOAA's Storm Prediction Center.