EF1 Tornado — Dorchester, Maryland

2025-05-16 · near Rhodesdale, Dorchester, Maryland

Event narrative

The tornado began south-southeast of Rhodesdale, along Rhodesdale-

Vienna Road. Significant tree damage occurred to a line of trees

to the east of the road, with many trees snapped along their

trunks and several more uprooted. The tree damage appeared to be

convergent, with trees bent towards the center of the damaged

area. The tornado may have lifted briefly as it continued to the

east-northeast as little damage was noted along Indiantown Road.

By the time the tornado reached Eldorado-Sharptown Road, damage to

trees resumed with several more snapped and uprooted. As the

tornado approached Galestown, damage occurred to an elongated farm

building, with the entire structure lifted off its foundation and

pushed several yards to the east-northeast. The most concentrated

damage was found in Galestown, near where the tornado reached its

peak width. Radar observations indicate that multiple circulations

may have been present at this time, resulting in the increased

width. Many more trees were twisted, snapped, and/or uprooted with

some causing damage to homes as a result. The tornado crossed into Delaware at 38.566, -75.702.

Wider weather episode

An upper low northwest of the area resulted in strong southwesterly flow aloft over the Mid-Atlantic. Scattered to numerous strong storms formed during the afternoon and evening, including a tornado in Dorchester County.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (38.5500, -75.8300)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1264870. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.