Tornadoes · United States · Maryland

2020 tornadoes in Maryland

20 tornadoes touched down in Maryland in 2020, 208 percent above the average of the record for the state. None of them killed anybody.

2019 2021 The whole country in 2020

The rating scale

Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The Enhanced Fujita scale rates the damage rather than measuring the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.

  1. EF065 to 85 mph

    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.

Every tornado in Maryland in 2020

February 7 5 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
February 77:28 AM ESTEF1Montgomery1.1150$92,000
February 77:38 AM ESTEF0Montgomery2.175$70,000
February 77:44 AM ESTEF1Frederick6.7150$340,000
February 78:03 AM ESTEF1Carroll10.3100$574,000
February 79:39 AM ESTEF1Cecil1.1200

April 13 2 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
April 131:47 PM EDTEF1Carroll0.475$300,000
April 133:27 PM EDTEF0Caroline4.830

August 4 10 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
August 45:55 AM EDTEF2Wicomico1.3150$230,000
August 46:27 AM EDTEF0Saint Mary's1.575
August 46:32 AM EDTEF0Saint Mary's5.2100
August 46:52 AM EDTEF0Calvert0.8175$250,000
August 47:14 AM EDTEF2Worcester3.8200$150,000
August 47:22 AM EDTEF0Wicomico2.7100$50,000
August 47:33 AM EDTEF1Calvert3.0100
August 47:35 AM EDTEF0Worcester8.075$15,000
August 47:55 AM EDTEF0Worcester9.675$20,000
August 48:18 AM EDTEF0Queen Anne's0.735

September 3 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
September 35:57 PM EDTEF0Anne Arundel6.0100$1.3 million

November 30 2 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
November 302:37 PM ESTEF1Cecil3.475
November 303:13 PM ESTEF0Caroline5.375

Nearby

Every tornado in Maryland since 1950Warnings in force in MarylandThe live radar over Maryland

What this means

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.

Sources

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