| The National Weather Service confirmed today that the damage during yesterdays storm was caused by a EF-1 Tornado. National Weather Service personnel came to the area and were assisted by the department in conducting a survey of the damage. There were two tornadoes both originating in Charles County. The first had a 2.1 mile path in the Morgantown community.
The tornado that affected the Maddox and Clements area began in the area of the Swan Point Golf Course in Swan Point, Charles County and traveled across the Wicomico River into Maddox. The storm traveled for a 16 mile path across St. Mary's County ending in the Oakville area. The majority of the severe damage was on the path from Notley Hall Road to Chopticon High School.
The EF-1 tornado produced winds of 90 MPH causing the extensive damage. The maximum path width of the tornado was 800 yards. The estimated time of the tornado was from 1642 hours until 1507 hours. For more information and pictures please visit our previous story here. http://sdvfd5.com/apps/public/news/newsView.cfm?News_ID=307
For more information from the National Weather Service please visit www.weather.gov/washington
The press release from the National Weather Service is below:
PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE MD/WASHINGTON DC
619 PM EDT SAT JUN 27 2015
...TWO EF-1 TORNADOES CONFIRMED IN SOUTHERN MARYLAND...
TWO TORNADOES WITH PEAK WINDS OF 90 MPH STRUCK SOUTHERN MARYLAND
LATE SATURDAY AFTERNOON. THE TWO WERE BRIEFLY ON THE GROUND AT THE
SAME TIME AS THE FIRST WAS NEARING ITS END...AND THE SECOND WAS
JUST GETTING STARTED.
BOTH CREATED SUBSTANTIAL TREE DAMAGE...SNAPPING AND UPROOTING
LARGE TREES ALONG THEIR PATHS. STRUCTURAL DAMAGE OF HOMES WAS
MAINLY LIMITED TO SIDING AND SHINGLE DAMAGE...EXCEPT WHERE TREES
FELL INTO HOMES. SEVERAL BARNS AND OUTBUILDINGS WERE FLATTENED.
THE SECOND TORNADO WAS LONG TRACK AND NEARLY CROSSED THE ENTIRE
WIDTH OF SAINT MARYS COUNTY. IT CREATED CONSISTENT DAMAGE FOR 16
MILES AND WAS ON THE GROUND FOR MORE THAN A HALF HOUR. THANKFULLY
NO INJURIES WERE REPORTED AND MANY REPORTED THEY HAD RECEIVED THE
ADVANCE WARNING.
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE THANKS THE SAINT MARYS COUNTY 7TH
DISTRICT VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT FOR ASSISTING IN THE SURVEY AND
PROVIDING PICTURES AND ACCOUNTS. ALSO THANKS TO SAINT MARYS AND
CHARLES COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT OFFICES FOR ASSISTING.
...EF-1 TORNADO CONFIRMED IN SOUTHERN CHARLES COUNTY NEAR
MORGANTOWN...
LOCATION...MORGANTOWN IN CHARLES COUNTY MARYLAND
DATE...JUNE 27 2015
ESTIMATED TIME...428 PM TO 436 PM EDT
MAXIMUM EF-SCALE RATING...EF1
MAXIMUM WIND SPEED...90 MPH
MAXIMUM PATH WIDTH...100 YARDS
PATH LENGTH...2.1 MILES
BEGINNING LAT/LON...38.343N / 76.970W
ENDING LAT/LON...38.353N / 76.935W
FATALITIES...0
INJURIES...0
* INFORMATION IN THIS STATEMENT IS PRELIMINARY AND SUBJECT TO
CHANGE PENDING FINAL REVIEW OF THE EVENT(S) AND PUBLICATION IN
NWS STORM DATA.
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE/WASHINGTON WEATHER
FORECAST OFFICE LOCATED IN STERLING VIRGINIA HAS CONFIRMED A
TORNADO STRUCK SOUTHERN CHARLES COUNTY MARYLAND JUST SOUTH OF THE
US-301 BRIDGE AT MORGANTOWN BETWEEN APPROXIMATELY 428 AND 436 PM
EDT ON SATURDAY JUNE 27TH 2015.
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PERSONNEL COMPLETED A GROUND SURVEY
ALONG WITH RADAR ANALYSIS AND CONCLUDED A TORNADO THAT PEAKED AT
EF-1 INTENSITY WITH WINDS OF 90 MPH PRODUCED DAMAGE ALONG A 2.1
MILE PATH...BEGINNING AT THE POTOMAC RIVER SHORELINE IN
MORGANTOWN. THE TORNADO THEN MOVED NORTHEAST ALONG MORGANTOWN
ROAD...ENDING ITS DAMAGE PATH JUST AFTER IT CROSSED OVER ROUTE
257-ROCK POINT ROAD.
WHILE ON THE GROUND THROUGH MORGANTOWN AND ALONG MORGANTOWN
ROAD...THE TREE DAMAGE WAS SUBSTANTIAL WITH DOZENS OF LARGE TREES
SNAPPED AND UPROOTED IN MULTIPLE DIRECTIONS ALONG ITS PATH. IT
TOOK SEVERAL CREWS HOURS TO REMOVE NUMEROUS LARGE TREES AND
RESTORE ACCESS DOWN MORGANTOWN ROAD. MANY HOMES HAD SOME OF THEIR
SHINGLES REMOVED AND SIDING DAMAGE...AND AT LEAST ONE HOME HAD
SOME ROOFING MATERIALS REMOVED ALONG THE ROOF EDGE.
OTHERWISE...MORE SUBSTANTIAL STRUCTURAL DAMAGE WAS MAINLY LIMITED
TO DESTROYED OUTBUILDINGS AND CARPORTS...EXCEPT WHERE TREES FELL
ON HOMES.
THE DAMAGE COINCIDED WITH A TORNADIC SIGNATURE ON NWS AND FAA
DOPPLER RADARS. NO ADDITIONAL DAMAGE WAS SEEN MORE THAN A FEW
HUNDRED YARDS PAST ROUTE 257...HOWEVER IT IS POSSIBLE IT CONTINUED
SLIGHTLY FURTHER INTO THE DEEPLY WOODED AREA.
&&
...EF-1 TORNADO CONFIRMED IN SOUTHERN CHARLES AND NORTHERN SAINT
MARYS COUNTIES...
LOCATION...SWAN POINT IN CHARLES COUNTY TO OAKVILLE IN ST. MARYS
COUNTY IN MARYLAND
DATE...JUNE 27 2015
ESTIMATED TIME...432 PM TO 507 PM EDT
MAXIMUM EF-SCALE RATING...EF1
MAXIMUM WIND SPEED...90 MPH
MAXIMUM PATH WIDTH...800 YARDS
PATH LENGTH...16.1 MILES
BEGINNING LAT/LON...38.294N / 76.907W
ENDING LAT/LON...38.390N / 76.636W
FATALITIES...0
INJURIES...0
* INFORMATION IN THIS STATEMENT IS PRELIMINARY AND SUBJECT TO CHANGE
PENDING FINAL REVIEW OF THE EVENT(S) AND PUBLICATION IN NWS
STORM DATA.
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE/WASHINGTON WEATHER
FORECAST OFFICE LOCATED IN STERLING VIRGINIA HAS CONFIRMED A
SECOND TORNADO STRUCK SOUTHERN CHARLES COUNTY MARYLAND JUST SOUTH
OF THE FIRST ONE...AND THEN NEARLY TRAVELED THE FULL WIDTH OF
SAINT MARYS COUNTY FOR OVER A HALF HOUR...BETWEEN APPROXIMATELY
432 PM AND 507 PM EDT ON SATURDAY JUNE 27TH 2015.
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AND SAINT MARYS COUNTY VOLUNTEER FIRE
PERSONNEL COMPLETED A GROUND SURVEY AND CONCLUDED A TORNADO THAT
PEAKED AT EF-1 INTENSITY WITH WINDS OF 90 MPH PRODUCED CONSISTENT
DAMAGE ALONG A 16 MILE PATH...BEGINNING ABOUT A HALF MILE INLAND
FROM THE POTOMAC RIVER AT THE SWAN POINT GOLF COURSE IN ISSUE
MARYLAND. THE TORNADO THEN MOVED NORTHEAST...CROSSING ROUTE 257
NEAR THE HOLY GHOST CHURCH NEAR HATTON CREEK ROAD. IT CONTINUED
THROUGH THIS RURAL AREA SNAPPING AND UPROOTING MANY OF THE TREES
ALONG ITS PATH. IT THEN CROSSED OVER THE WICOMICO RIVER AND INTO
SAINT MARYS COUNTY...ENTERING JUST SOUTH OF MADDOX MARYLAND AROUND
SOUTH VIEW LANE AND NOTLEY HALL ROAD. THE TORNADO MOVED NORTHEAST
THROUGH RURAL FARMLAND AND FORESTED AREAS BEFORE MOVING BETWEEN
CHAPTICO AND CLEMENTS...CROSSING THE INTERSECTION OF ROUTE 238 AND
HORSESHOE ROAD. IT CONTINUED NORTHEAST THROUGH RURAL AREAS...IT
THEN PASSED BETWEEN MORGANZA AND LOVEVILLE...PASSING OVER THE
PROPERTY OF CHOPTICON HIGH SCHOOL. THE LAST SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE WAS
NOTED ALONG ROUTE 235 BETWEEN NORTH AND SOUTH SANDGATES
ROADS...NEAR OAKVILLE MARYLAND.
THE MAJORITY OF DAMAGE ALONG THE PATH WAS SUBSTANTIAL TREE
DAMAGE...AND DAMAGE TO SEVERAL HOMES FROM FALLING TREES. THERE
WERE SEVERAL BARNS AND OUTBUILDINGS FLATTENED...AND SOME MINOR
SIDING AND SHINGLE DAMAGE WAS NOTED ON SOME HOMES. A WELL
CONSTRUCTED GAZEBO WAS BLOWN INTO THE WICOMICO RIVER FROM A
RESIDENTS SHORELINE IN CHARLES COUNTY. CHOPTICON HIGH SCHOOL HAD
DAMAGE TO BLEACHERS AND SPORTS FIELDS.
THE DAMAGE COINCIDED WITH A TORNADIC SIGNATURE ON NWS AND FAA
DOPPLER RADARS. THERE WAS ALSO PHOTOGRAPHIC EVIDENCE OF A
RAIN-WRAPPED FUNNEL MOVING ACROSS THE WICOMICO RIVER AS IT
CROSSED FROM CHARLES INTO SAINT MARYS COUNTY. THE SANDGATES AREA
WAS INSPECTED...BUT NOTHING OTHER THAN SMALL BRANCH DAMAGE IN A
FEW LOCATIONS WAS NOTED.
THIS INFORMATION CAN ALSO BE FOUND ON OUR WEBSITE AT
WEATHER.GOV/WASHINGTON.
FOR REFERENCE...THE ENHANCED FUJITA SCALE CLASSIFIES TORNADOES
INTO THE FOLLOWING CATEGORIES:
EF0...WIND SPEEDS 65 TO 85 MPH.
EF1...WIND SPEEDS 86 TO 110 MPH.
EF2...WIND SPEEDS 111 TO 135 MPH.
EF3...WIND SPEEDS 136 TO 165 MPH.
EF4...WIND SPEEDS 166 TO 200 MPH.
EF5...WIND SPEEDS GREATER THAN 200 MPH. |
