MARYLAND, USA — The National Weather Service confirmed that five tornadoes touched down in Maryland Friday morning, after strong storms tore through the DMV. Two of the tornadoes were in Montgomery County, while the third was in Frederick County.
An EF-1 tornado touched down in Dickerson and an EF-0 touched down in Boyds, both at 7:28 a.m. In Frederick County, an EF-1 tornado touched down in Monrovia at 7:44 a.m.
Dickerson’s tornado had a path length of 1 mile, a path width of 150 yards, and maximum wind speeds of 95 MPH. The tornado in Boyds had a path length of 2.3 miles, a path width of 75 yards and maximum wind speeds of 80 MPH; 86 MPH marks the low-end of an EF-1 rating.
In Frederick County, Monrovia’s tornado had a path length of 6 miles, a path width of 150 yards and maximum wind speeds of 105 MPH.
Two more EF-1 tornadoes hit in Cecil County and Carroll County.
NWS also confirmed that an EF-0 tornado touched down at 7:20 a.m. in Leesburg, Virginia. The tornado had a path length of 3.3 miles, a path width of 250 yards, and maximum wind speeds of 85 MPH.
There were no reported fatalities or injuries from any of the tornados, but reports of downed trees were numerous all over the DMV.
A wind advisory was in effect into the early evening hours, with peak wind gusts reaching 54 MPH in Gaithersburg, MD. With saturated grounds, the gusts were enough to cause trees and power lines to fall in some spots.
Roads across the area were blocked off while crews worked to remove downed utility lines and trees, resulting in thousands in the area being without power.
Trees uprooted, roofs caved in, buildings severely weathered.
That’s just some of the damage that Friday’s severe weather — which included a potential tornado — caused around the DMV. And for one farm in Maryland, the damage was extensive.
Burall Farms in Monrovia saw serious structural damage, with parts of the farm completely leveled. Cars parked around the area became surrounded by debris, with car doors piercing through fallen walls.
Wooden beams and siding of the buildings were left scattered across the farm after severe winds rolled through Friday morning. Downed trees blocked some surrounding areas near the farm, such as Weller Road.
Amanda Warner, whose family owns the farm, said that two 60 foot silos were also damaged.
“It’s devastating,” Warner said. “At this point, I don’t know what will happen, but we will try and make it through.”
Other parts of Maryland, Virginia and D.C. saw significant impact from the weather on Friday, with powerlines down and rain pouring across the DMV. Damage reports are still rolling in following the storm.
by Laura Wainman and Jonathan Franklin (2020, Feb 7 | Updated 2020, Feb 8) WUSA9
