F1 Tornado — Montgomery, Maryland

2003-11-05 · near Poolesville, Montgomery, Maryland

Event narrative

A tornado touched down 2 miles west of downtown Poolesville. The tornado destroyed a horse barn on Whites Ferry Road on the western edge of Poolesville. The storm then tracked east and produced more concentrated damage from the Rickman Horse Farm Complex to Boyds. It then crossed Clopper Roadand entered Western Germantown and lifted.

Wider weather episode

A tornadic thunderstorm produced a pair of weak tornadoes across Northern Virginia before crossing into Maryland on the 5th. Once in Maryland, the first tornado produced scattered damage in rural areas between the Potomac River and Poolesville. A second tornado produced damage from Poolesville to Germantown. A 50 foot section of a horse barn on Whites Ferry Road was destroyed. A tin roof was torn off a business in downtown Poolesville. The tornado continued east and produced more structural damage at Rickmans Horse Farm. Dozens of trees were either snapped off or knocked down. The storm finally crossed Clopper Road between Route 121-Clarksburg Road and Festival Way and then entered Germantown and finally lifted. Widespread damage was observed in the Kingsview Ridge, Germantown Estates and North Germantown Subdivisions. Wind speeds ranged from 60 to 90 mph.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (39.1500, -77.4167)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5379733. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.