Tornado hit Howard Co. during Wednesday’s storms, weather service confirms

An EF-1 tornado touched down in Howard County, Maryland, during Wednesday’s storms, the National Weather Service confirmed Friday.

The tornado snapped and uprooted numerous trees in a narrow corridor along Old Frederick Road in Cooksville, the weather service said. No one was injured.

According to the weather service, the twister touched down from 7:06 p.m. to 7:07 p.m. and packed winds up to 90 mph. It was on the ground for .4 miles and maxed out at 100 yards wide.

The tornado occurred within a larger area of damage from Clarksburg to Marriottsville caused by straight-line winds of 60 to 80 mph, the weather service said.

a graphic from the national weather service with information about a tornado
(Courtesy National Weather Service)

While the recent weather pattern in the D.C. region seems wacky, WTOP Meteorologist Mike Stinneford said it’s something that comes with this time of year.

“March is a transition period when we have very cold air clashing with warm and moist air from the Gulf of Mexico and from the Atlantic Ocean. So this is our severe weather season, and our severe weather season will continue for the next several months. So very, very common to see severe weather and the risk of tornadoes for the next several months,” Stinneford said.

WTOP’s Ana Golden contributed to this report.

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