Severe Thunderstorm Watch Posted For 20 MD Counties, Baltimore

MARYLAND — A severe thunderstorm watch was issued Monday evening for the city of Baltimore and 20 Maryland counties. Potentially strong thunderstorms are in the forecast for parts of the state, with damaging wind gusts and hail possible.

Issued by the National Weather Service, the severe thunderstorm watch is in effect until 2 a.m. Tuesday.

The National Weather Service issued a hazardous weather outlook early in the day due to the potential for storms across the state. But at 7:25 p.m. officials issued the severe thunderstorm watch due to storms likely to hit Monday evening, according to the National Weather Service.

The watch includes the city of Baltimore plus the counties of Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Calvert, Caroline, Carroll, Cecil, Charles, Dorchester, Frederick, Harford, Howard, Kent, Montgomery, Prince George's, Queen Anne's, Somerset, St. Marys, Talbot, Wicomico and Worcester.

"High winds are likely the main threat as storms could congeal into a squall line, and the Storm Prediction Center has delineated a slight risk of severe weather," the weather service reported earlier. "Isolated flash flooding could occur in portions of the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast as well."

A slight risk means storms may be scattered, isolated, intense and/or short-lived, according to the National Weather Service.

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These Maryland jurisdictions are under the hazardous weather outlook due to the slight risk of severe thunderstorms: Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Calvert, Carroll, Cecil, Charles, Frederick, Harford, Howard, Montgomery, Prince George's, St. Mary's and Washington counties as well as Baltimore City.

Temperatures are expected to reach the mid 80s Monday in parts of central Maryland, where rain is most likely between 8 p.m. and 1 a.m., based on the hour-by-hour forecast.

A hazardous weather outlook for Dorchester, Somerset and Wicomico counties states there is a marginal threat of severe storms Monday, meaning storm activity may be isolated and limited in intensity, duration and/or coverage.

Get the latest forecast from the National Weather Service.

Beach Forecast: Rip Currents Possible

At Maryland beaches, there is a moderate rip current risk from 8 a.m. through Monday night, according to authorities.

Rip currents are powerful channels of water that pull people away from shore.

Signs of a rip current include noticeable difference in water color; a break in the wave pattern; a line of debris, seaweed or foam moving away from shore; and/or a channel of water that is churning and choppy, according to the United States Lifesaving Association.

Here's how to stay safe if you are caught in one, according to the national Rip Current Task Force:

• Swim parallel to the shore; do not try to swim toward the shore.
• By swimming parallel to shore, you are likely to get out of the rip current, which tends to be a narrow channel; then swim at an angle in to shore.
• If you feel tired or don't think you will be able to make it out of the rip current, don't panic. Stay calm and tread water, waving your arms and yelling for help while facing shore.

Though they can form anywhere, rip currents are particularly prone to areas around sandbars.
Beachgoers can check conditions from the Ocean City Beach Patrol before heading out.