April showers bring April tornados?
It?s possible? even in Maryland.
“I would say the probability is highest in the summer months of June, July and August, but tornados can happen any time of the year around here with exception of January and maybe December,” said Andy Woodcock, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.
Fierce storms with heavy rain and even hail Sunday and Monday compelled meteorologists at the NWS to determine if the storms caused tornados in the Baltimore region.
One region examined by officials was the Cockeysville area in northern Baltimore County, said Sarah Rogowski, another NWS meteorologist.
A determination was not available by late afternoon, but officials Monday were checking for reports of damage and any rotation caught on radar, she said.
Since the 1800s, numerous tornados have touched ground in Maryland during April, meteorologists said.
The last tornado of some substance in the region during the early spring months occurred 1997, but even that was weak, scoring only an F-0, the lowest grade on the Fujita Scale, Woodcock said.
This particular tornado was a half-mile long, 25 yards wide and brought around 70 mph winds as it moved through Baltimore City and Baltimore County, he said.
“Tornados have very different levels. People sometimes get wigged out when they hear the word tornado,” said Woodcock. “But you can have a thunderstorm that does more damage than an F-0.”
Hail was reported Sunday in Norrisville and Bel Air in Harford, according to NWS officials.
In Carroll, the Cornias family found parts of a barn roof on their cattle fields. They also said more than 20 trees on their property had snapped like twigs, WJZ reported.
Outside the area, Prince George?s and Charles counties did have minor tornados, said Rogowski.
One twister tore off part of the roof of the George E. Peters Adventist School in Hyattsville, and a construction trailer was also blown over Sunday, the weather service reported. Glyndon United Methodist Church on Butler Road in Baltimore County also reported damage to its slate roof.
Most of the flooding occurred in Western Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia, while fewer than 400 customers, mostly in Baltimore City and Anne Arundel, remained without power throughout Monday, according to Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. and officials.
For more on the Glyndon church lightening strike, see Page 13.
