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F1 tornado in Washington County, Maryland

Tornado May 25, 2004 · Washington County, Maryland

Rating

1.5 mi

Path length

100 yd

Path width

$250K

Damage as recorded

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The path drawn at its surveyed width of 100 yards (0.06 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What F1 means. This tornado was rated on Fujita’s original scale, used until 2007. F1 meant moderate damage: roofs badly stripped, mobile homes pushed off foundations or overturned, windows broken; the scale paired it with winds of 73–112 mph, figures later judged too high, especially toward the top of the scale, and revised downward in the Enhanced Fujita scale. Ratings then, as now, came from the damage.

What the National Weather Service wrote

A weak tornado touched down 1 mile southwest of Leitersburg, MD. The storm tracked from northwest to southeast. Damage from the tornado include a peeled barn roof, structural damage to several homes and numerous downed trees. Quarter to golf ball size hail was also reported.

The wider storm

Thunderstorms spawned tornadoes in Washington and Frederick Counties. Other strong thunderstorms also produced wind and hail damage across North Central Maryland and the Metropolitan areas of Baltimore and Washington DC. Downed trees and power lines caused power outages for over 100,000 customers. Penny to golfball size hail damaged cars and gardens. Lightning strikes started a number of house fires according to Fire and Rescue Personnel. Maryland State Police responded to several accidents blamed on the pelting hail and ponding of water on roadways.

Began near Leitersburg (39.6833, -77.6333).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

1 more tornado the National Weather Service filed under this storm episode.

F0 Frederick County

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 5396435. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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