F1 Tornado — Anne Arundel, Maryland

2006-09-28 · near Severna Park, Anne Arundel, Maryland

Event narrative

The National Weather Service conducted a storm survey in Severna Park and Pasadena Maryland, rating the tornado an F1 on the Fujita scale of tornado intensity. It was determined that a the tornado touched down in the area of Severna Park about 6:34 pm, and traveled two miles before lifting in Pasadena around 6:44 pm. At its maximum the storm was 250 yards wide with winds of 90 mph. 34 homes were severely damaged by falling trees with 13 of those homes rendered uninhabitable. Initial minor damage was located near the intersection of Ritchie Highway and McKinsey Avenue. A hardware store had its sign blown down and a small tree was downed near the Severna Park Marketplace Shopping Center. A few trees were also downed immediately behind the shopping center along Leelynn Road. The tornado gathered strength as it progressed through West Ridge and towards Cattail Creek off of the Magothy River. Five large hardwood trees of one to two feet in diameter were uprooted, and several others were snapped off along Whittier Parkway. Two of the large trees had fallen through houses. These trees, as most of the trees were in the survey, were blown down nearly perpendicular to the path of the tornado (knocked down towards the west). The tornado then reached its most intense and widest extent as it passed through the community of Lower Magothy Beach. Many of these trees knocked down in this area were large two foot diameter hardwood trees that were 60 to 80 feet tall. Leaf spatter was noted on the sides of homes and vehicles. Slight siding damage was noted on one home. Many wires and telephone poles were knocked down in this area. The width of the tornado at this point was 250 yards. Damage became much more limited as the tornado continued north across Norwich Road and Inverness Road in Riverdale. By the time the storm crossed the Magothy for the final time and traveled over the community of Beachwood Park, only leaf litter and small downed branches were noted.

Wider weather episode

Significant severe thunderstorms occurred on September 28 across the region. A strong cold front moved from the Appalachian Mountains to the Mid Atlantic during the afternoon. The cold front reached to along the Chesapeake Bay around midnight. The most intense thunderstorms occurred along the Interstate 95 corridor, with one confirmed F1 tornado in Anne Arundel County, Maryland. Intense thunderstorm winds also occurred across the tidal waters of the Potomac and Chesapeake.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (39.0667, -76.5500)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5534235. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.