EF0 tornado, Laurel to Scaggsville, Maryland, September 29, 2015

1. EF065 to 85 mphthis tornado

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

2. EF186 to 110 mph

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

3. EF2111 to 135 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. EF3136 to 165 mph

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

5. EF4166 to 200 mph

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

6. EF5over 200 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

EF0

Date

September 29, 2015

Touchdown

10:02 PM EDT (02:02 UTC)

Lifted

10:13 PM EDT (02:13 UTC)

On the ground

11 minutes

Path length

4.4 miles (7.1 km)

Path width

75 yards (69 m)

Deaths

0

Injuries

0

Counties

Howard and Prince George's counties

Touchdown point

39.096, -76.841

Lift-off point

39.151, -76.882

Record number

1509292002-01

Heavy rain event as low pressure moved through the Mid-Atlantic ahead of a slow moving cold front. Southerly flow ahead of the low pressure tapped into a moisture rich atmosphere over the Gulf of Mexico. While thunderstorms were isolated due to weaker shear and instability, the heaviest of the precipitation was able to bring down gusty winds from aloft.

The National Weather Service in Baltimore MD/Washington DC has confirmed a tornado near Laurel and Scaggsville in Prince Georges and Howard counties in Maryland on September 29 2015.||The National Weather Service in Baltimore MD/Washington DC has confirmed a tornado rated EF0 produced scattered damage along a path extending from Laurel, MD in northern Prince Georges County to just east of Scaggsville in southern Howard County.||Based on information obtained from a ground survey conducted by a member of the National Weather Service of storm damage in southern Howard County and a detailed damage report from the Director of Public Works for the City of Laurel, it was determined that an EF0 tornado produced intermittent damage along a 4 mile path extending from just southeast of Laurel, MD to a point about 1 mile east of Scaggsville, MD.||The tornado first produced damage shortly after 10pm Tuesday evening in Laurel, MD. It damaged the facade of a commercial building near the intersection of Fort Meade Rd and Maryland Route 197. It then moved northwest and into downtown Laurel causing multiple tree damage, along with damage to several roofs. A portion of one home had a small part of its roof peeled back and several commercial buildings lost roof material. Damage in Laurel was limited to a several block area bounded by North Second Street, Fetty Alley, Avondale St and the Little Patuxent River. The tornado then crossed the Little Patuxent River into Howard County.||Based upon this ground survey along with analysis of available NWS and FAA radar data and interviews with persons along the path, the NWS in Sterling confirms an EF0 tornado occurred.

The National Weather Service in Baltimore MD/Washington DC has confirmed a tornado near Laurel and Scaggsville in Prince Georges and Howard counties in Maryland on September 29 2015.||The National Weather Service in Baltimore MD/Washington DC has confirmed a tornado rated EF0 produced scattered damage along a path extending from Laurel, MD in northern Prince Georges County to just east of Scaggsville in southern Howard County.||Based on information obtained from a ground survey conducted by a member of the National Weather Service of storm damage in southern Howard County and a detailed damage report from the Director of Public Works for the City of Laurel, it was determined that an EF0 tornado produced intermittent damage along a 4 mile path extending from just southeast of Laurel, MD to a point about 1 mile east of Scaggsville, MD.||After crossing the Little Patuxent River into Howard County, the tornado produced little damage and may have lifted briefly as it moved parallel to Route 216. Then after crossing Interstate 95, the tornado produced tree damage along a narrow path that started near the entrance of the High Ridge Substation and then downed several trees as it crossed into a subdivision west of Leishear Road just east of Hammond Middle School. The tornado lifted near Graeloch Rd and Helmart Rd after producing minor tree damage.||Based upon this ground survey along with analysis of available NWS and FAA radar data and interviews with persons along the path, the NWS in Sterling confirms an EF0 tornado occurred.

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 General Thunderstorms Risk. The outlook in force was issued at 00:57 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.

The Sterling radar (KLWX), 56 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 02:01 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.

Local storm reports within 60 km of the path, in the three hours either side.

From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service local storm reports.

The live radar over the trackEvery 2015 tornado in MarylandEvery tornado in Maryland since 1950Warnings in force in Maryland nowThe forecast where you are

2 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.