EF1 Tornado — Baltimore City (c), Maryland

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

Event narrative

After cross the tidal Patapsco River, a tornado came back onshore in the Canton area. A path of uprooted trees and snapped branches was noted in Canton Waterfront Park, from the shoreline through the park. After this, the tornado moved east towards The Shops at Canton Crossing. This is where the tornado punched a hole near the roofline of the west-facing wall of a fitness facility. Once wind entered the building, it lifted off part of the east roof and blew it to the east-southeast. Areas east of the shopping mall consist of rail yards and industrial facilities, where no damage was noted by survey or reported. From Canton Crossing, the storm turned slightly right to the east-southeast, towards Dundalk. The FAA Terminal Doppler Weather Radar at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport noted the strongest circulation being from this location onward through the end of the life cycle of the tornado. The tornado moved across Interstates 95 and 895 and then through the Holabird Industrial Park, where it did some significant damage to several warehouses. There was also one eyewitness report of seeing the swirl of the tornado while at work during this time. Much of the warehouse damage was due to the wind gaining access into the structures through large garage or bay doors, which then caused uplift and removal of large sections of roofing as well as some damage to walls. One warehouse had a large portion of its structural metal and wood awning damaged. While much of the damage was blown from west to east, convergent tree damage was noted, and at an Amazon warehouse on Holabird Avenue (the same facility struck in November 2018) some damage was blown to the north. Two 18-whell tractor-trailer trucks were blown over at the Amazon facility.

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 → (39.2776, -76.5789)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1250152. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.