There were five tornadoes confirmed in Maryland Wednesday night, according to the Baltimore/Washington office of the National Weather Service.
Here are the details as shared by the Baltimore/Washington office’s public briefing:
Poolesville & Gaithersburg tornado (Central Montgomery County)
- There was one tornado in Montgomery County. It started in Poolesville at 7:14 p.m. and ended in Gaithersburg at 7:42 p.m. It traveled 12 miles had and an estimated peak wind speed of 105 mph. It uprooted several trees and damaged seven houses in Gaithersburg.
- The only reported injuries from the June 5 tornadoes were from the Gaithersburg tornado.
Arbutus & Halethorpe tornado (Southern Baltimore County)
- There were two in Baltimore County. One started in Arbutus and ended in Halethorpe, traveling about 2.4 miles with a maximum wind speed of 105 mph. It snapped or uprooted trees and downed wires, and it also appears to have blown four heavy overhead doors out of a distribution warehouse.
Middle River tornado (Baltimore County)
- The other Baltimore County tornado lasted for about two minutes and traveled less than half a mile in Middle River, ending at 7:56 p.m. It had an estimated peak wind speed of 105 mph. It caused damage in a mobile home community called Williams Estates, mostly ripping the underpinning from residences and blowing a shed and trampoline around.
Columbia tornado (Howard County, Maryland)
- There was one in Howard County. It lasted about two minutes, ending at 8:33 p.m. and had a maximum wind speed of about 95 mph. It traveled about a mile, mainly uprooting trees which lead to some cars being damaged in Columbia’s Long Reach village.
Eldersburg tornado (Carroll County)
- And there was one in Carroll County. It had a peak wind speed of 85 mph and traveled about 4 miles through the county from 7:59 p.m.-8:13 p.m. One large tree Bartholow Road near Sarah Drive fell onto a house and a house in the Lakeland Heights area had damage to its siding and roofing.
The National Weather Service issued 22 tornado warnings in Maryland Wednesday night, one of the highest counts on record for the regional office. It’s been more than 10 years since the region had 23 warnings issued in one day in April 2011, according to meteorologist Erik Taylor.
There were plenty of power outages in the region, along with downed trees and damaged cars. The worst damage appears to have been in Gaithersburg, where seven houses were condemned in a neighborhood right by City Hall.
Five people were rescued from the collapsed house and taken to a hospital. Four of them have been released, and the fifth was set to be released Thursday or Friday, officials said.
Gaithersburg Mayor Jud Ashman said to his “unsophisticated eye,” it appeared only the one house where five people had to be rescued would be totaled — the other condemned properties may just need repairs.
Ashman reiterated how grateful he was for the support from county agencies, Pepco, the American Red Cross and other mayors and officials from across the state.
“It’s been very gratifying. It’s gratifying to see people from the neighborhood supporting each other, too,” he said.
The National Weather Service also reported one tornado in West Virginia and one in Leesburg, Virginia. The National Weather Service said the number of confirmed tornadoes could change as officials continue to survey damage.
Baltimore Banner reporter Lillian Reed contributed to this article.
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