April 27-28, 2011 Severe Weather

Mountain Snow and Heavy Winds in the Northwest; Fire Weather Conditions in California; Tropical Storm Rafael

A storm system is bringing strong winds and heavy mountain snow to the Cascades into the Northern Rockies. Santa Ana winds and dry conditions will support elevated to critical fire weather over coastal portions of California. Snow, strong winds, blizzard conditions, and high seas are impacting Southwestern Alaska. A Tropical Storm Watch is in effect for the Florida Keys from Tropical Storm Rafael. Read More >

...EF-0 TORNADO CONFIRMED IN GREEN RIDGE MARYLAND... LOCATION...3 MI NORTHWEST OF GREEN RIDGE IN ALLEGANY COUNTY MARYLAND DATE...APRIL 28 2011 ESTIMATED TIME...1:35 AM TO 1:35AM EDT MAXIMUM EF-SCALE RATING...EF-0 MAXIMUM WIND SPEED...80 MPH MAXIMUM PATH WIDTH...75 YARDS LENGTH...0.1 MILES BEGINNING LAT/LON...39.601N / 78.479W ENDING LAT/LON...39.602N / 78.477W * 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... A BRIEF TORNADO OCCURRED IN GREEN RIDGE STATE FOREST. DAMAGE WAS FOUND ALONG A SWITCHBACK ON MERTENS RD BETWEEN STAFFORD AND EAST VALLEY ROADS. NUMEROUS TREES WERE UPROOTED AND/OR TOPPED IN A SMALL AREA OF MERTENS ROAD. TREE CANOPIES SHOWED EVIDENCE OF CONVERGENT FLOW NEAR THE DAMAGE TRACK. THIS TORNADO HAS BEEN RATED EF-0 WITH MAX WINDS ESTIMATED AT 80 MPH AND A WIDTH OF 75 YARDS. THE TOUCHDOWN TIME IS BASED UPON RADAR. DUE TO THE REMOTE AND RUGGED NATURE OF THE TERRAIN...THE DAMAGE TRACK COULD POSSIBLY EXTEND FARTHER ALONG EITHER END OF THE PATH.