April 16, 2011 Severe Weather

Active Weather for the West, Warming in the East

The potential for heavy snow at higher elevations in the western U.S. will continue for many spots through the weekend. In the meantime, the eastern half of the continental U.S. will transition to above normal temperatures ahead of a pair of cold fronts next week that will bring readings back to closer to normal as we approach Thanksgiving Day. Read More >

LOCATION...1 MI NE UNION MILLS TO 4 MI NE UNION MILLS MD DATE...APRIL 16 2011 ESTIMATED START TIME...756 PM ESTIMATED END TIME...759 PM EST MAXIMUM EF-SCALE RATING...EF-0 ESTIMATED MAXIMUM WIND SPEED...80 MPH PATH WIDTH...50 TO 250 YARDS PATH LENGTH...3.1 MILES BEGINNING LAT/LON...39.6783N / 77.0002W ENDING LAT/LON...39.7090N / 76.9558W * FATALITIES...NONE * INJURIES...NONE * THE INFORMATION IN THIS STATEMENT IS PRELIMINARY AND SUBJECT TO CHANGE PENDING FINAL REVIEW OF THE EVENT(S) AND PUBLICATION IN NWS STORM DATA. ...SUMMARY... AFTER A REVIEW OF NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AND FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION WEATHER RADARS...GROUND OBSERVATIONS AND EYEWITNESS ACCOUNTS...THE BALTIMORE/WASHINGTON WEATHER FORECAST OFFICE OF THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS DETERMINED THAT A TORNADO RATED EF-0 ON THE ENHANCED FUJITA SCALE STRUCK NORTHERN CARROLL COUNTY...WITH ESTIMATED MAXIMUM WIND SPEEDS OF 80 MPH. THE TORNADO INITIALLY TOUCHED DOWN ALONG DEEP RUN ROAD DOWNING AND SNAPPING DOZENS OF TREES ALONG THE ROAD AND IN THE RIVER VALLEY BELOW. MANY WIRES WERE DOWNED FROM FALLING TREES. THE TORNADO CONTINUED NORTHEAST ALONG GEETING ROAD...DOWNING NUMEROUS TREES... PARTIALLY UNROOFING A BARN AND FLATTENING A SMALL FARM SHED. CONTINUING TO FOLLOW THE DEEP RUN RIVER VALLEY...THE TORNADO THEN HIT THE GRAND VALLEY FARMS SUBDIVISION...DOWNING SEVERAL TREES AND LARGE BRANCHES. A LARGE TREE FELL ON ONE HOME...RENDERING THE HOME UNINHABITABLE. ANOTHER HOME HAD ITS DECK AND OUTDOOR SHED DAMAGED BY LARGE FALLING BRANCHES. THE TORNADO FINALLY LIFTED AFTER SNAPPING SOME TREES AND PARTIALLY UNROOFING ANOTHER BARN ALONG BAND HALL HILL ROAD. THANKS TO CARROLL COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT FOR THEIR ASSISTANCE WITH THE GROUND SURVEY.