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EF1 tornado in Dorchester County, Maryland

Tornado May 16, 2025 · Dorchester County, Maryland

EF1
Rating
7.0 mi
Path length
600 yd
Path width
$50K
Damage as recorded
EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 600 yards (0.34 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What EF1 means. On the Enhanced Fujita scale, EF1 is moderate damage: roofs badly stripped, mobile homes pushed off foundations or overturned, windows broken, consistent with estimated gusts of 86–110 mph. The rating comes from a survey of the worst damage after the storm, not from a wind measurement, so it says as much about what the tornado hit as about how strong it was.

What the National Weather Service wrote

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.

The wider storm

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.

Began near Rhodesdale (38.5500, -75.8300).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 1264870. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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