EF1 Tornado — Baltimore City (c), Maryland

2025-05-16 · near Port Covengton, Baltimore City (c), Maryland

Event narrative

During the mid-afternoon, a line of severe thunderstorms developed across eastern West Virginia and western Maryland and quickly moved east into the early evening hours. Radar showed a significant increase in organization of this line of storms as it moved from Frederick and western Montgomery Counties into Carroll and Howard Counties in Maryland. The first area of concentrated damage was located in Federal Hill Park in the City of Baltimore, where on that hill there were a few uprooted trees and snapped large branches in a linear path heading east towards the Patapsco River. This is where the tornado touched down at 5:51 PM EDT according to weather radar, and then moved across the river south of Fells Point toward the Canton area.

Wider weather episode

A line of thunderstorms developed over western Maryland and eastern West Virginia, then significantly gathered strength as it moved east into the I-95 corridor. Destructive winds, very large hail, and a tornado were observed with some of the most intense storms. Additional thunderstorms in a weakening but still severe state crossed the Appalachians overnight.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (39.2796, -76.6096)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1250150. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.