F1 tornado, Woodsboro, Maryland, June 14, 2004

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

June 14, 2004

Touchdown

6:18 PM EDT (22:18 UTC)

Path length

4.2 miles (6.8 km)

Path width

150 yards (137 m)

Deaths

0

Injuries

0

Property damage

$2,000

County

Frederick County

Touchdown point

39.550, -77.320

Lift-off point

39.500, -77.270

Record number

1306

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.

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.

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

6 minutes of warning. NWS LWX issued a tornado warning for this county at 22:12 UTC, 6 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 23:00 UTC.

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 General Thunderstorms Risk. The outlook in force was issued at 19:55 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.

Frederick Municipal Apt (FDK), 14 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

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

The Sterling radar (KLWX), 63 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 22:16 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 2004 tornado in MarylandEvery tornado in Maryland since 1950Warnings in force in Maryland nowThe forecast where you are

5 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

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.