EF2 tornado in Carroll County, Maryland

A tornado moved northeastward from Howard County and entered Carroll County around 8:20 PM EDT on the evening of November 2nd. Several trees were downed along Bennett Road. Numerous trees were downed in the Pheasant Ridge community just south of MD-144/Frederick Road, and several mobile homes were heavily damaged. Several power poles were snapped along MD-144/Frederick Road.

As the tornado crossed Interstate 70/US-40/Baltimore National Pike, numerous trees and branches were downed in the roadway and on vehicles, which appeared to have been pulled off the roadway by the winds. No injuries were reported.

The tornado proceeded to move into the retail area of Mt. Airy, where a canopy over the gas pumps at High's Dairy Store was partially torn off, and the TJ Maxx roof was lifted up and partially removed. There were also numerous trees snapped and uprooted in a convergent manner behind the shopping center to near the Mt. Airy water tower. In the immediate path, virtually no trees were left undamaged, indicative of winds over 100 MPH.

The tornado continued northward from this point, where several outbuildings at the Knills Farm Market just east of MD-27/Ridge Road were severely damaged or completely destroyed, including a metal silo which twisted and collapsed. Nearby along Watersville Road, several more power poles were snapped purely from wind (not from trees falling on power lines). On either side of the farm, virtually all trees in the tornado's path were downed in a convergent manner, including at a residence along Watersville Road, with some showing signs of bark being stripped by the wind. This was one area where maximum winds are estimated to have been near 120 mph.

The tornado continued northeastward, with several residences experiencing shingle and roof damage/removal along Arrowwood Circle, and downed numerous trees and power lines, consistent with winds around 90 MPH.

Numerous hardwood trees, virtually all in the tornado's path, were snapped with signs of stripped bark along the 6000 block of Runkles Road. At Snell's Greenhouses, water was completely removed from a pond, and several greenhouses were destroyed. A nearby home weather station in the tornado's path just to the northeast measured a wind gust of 112 mph. Based on this, it is likely the tornado's maximum winds again approached 120 mph in this area. This occurred at around 825 PM EDT, when the FAA's Terminal Doppler Weather Radar near Washington Dulles International Airport showed it's strongest rotational signature.

The last evidence of tornadic damage was observed on Gillis Falls Road where a few trees were uprooted in convergent fashion just east of Runkles Road. Radar imagery from the FAA's Terminal Doppler Weather Radar near Washington Dulles International Airport showed the tornadic velocity couplet dissipate just north of Gillis Ford Road at about 826 PM EDT.

The damage estimate was provided by Carroll County Emergency Management.

A dynamic low pressure system tracked through the Mid-Atlantic states on the evening of November 2nd. A squall line developed along the cold front, and while instability was limited, deep and low level shear were strong enough to support the development of a quasi-linear convective system. The most intense portions of the system were able to generate localized severe damaging winds and tornadoes.