Tornado In Baltimore County Recorded 95 MPH Winds: Officials

JACKSONVILLE, MD — A tornado hit Jacksonville in Baltimore County Thursday night, leaving a trail of uprooted trees in its wake.

The EF-1 tornado had peak winds of 95 mph, according to the National Weather Service.

Officials believe it touched down north of Merrymans Mill Road and Jarrettsville Pike between 4:51 and 4:55 p.m. Thursday, June 3.

Eyewitnesses reported quiet followed by a "loud and incessant roaring sound, with reduced visibility due to heavy rain and swirling winds," according to the National Weather Service.

The tornado's path was 2 miles long and 120 yards wide, investigators said, from Overshot Court to Sweet Air Road to the 1400 block of Blenheim Road.

Here are the tornado damage reports provided by officials:

• About 100 trees were uprooted and damaged on Overshot Court, according to authorities, who said the trees fell in a "convergent, crossing manner and pointed to the west-to-north, generally along the tornado track."
• A house lost part of a shutter and an eave on the northeast side, and a flagpole was blown down. Siding that was damaged was found 120 yards northwest of the home on Overshot Court, investigators said.
• The tornado moved northeast, crossing wooded areas south of the Carroll Manor Recreation Council building on MD 145/Sweet Air Road. Limited tree damage was reported.
• Several trees were uprooted and topped in the 1400 block of Blenheim Road, where the twister plucked a 2-foot-diameter tree that was facing west, while officials said a trampoline was blown over 200 yards to the east. Several softwood pine trees were snapped, and a large uprooted tree damaged a section of covered porch.
• As the tornado crossed Sweet Air Road, a few tree branches were down on Manor Road.
• A resident at the end of Cremson Drive off Manor Road described "hearing a loud sound akin to a freight train" and seeing a hardwood tree that was 20 inches in diameter twisted and lifted 10 feet off the ground. He said he had been in his basement because he received a tornado warning five minutes earlier. Surveyors said they think the tornado lifted before crossing Maple Court, since the damage did not extend northeast of the Cremson Drive location.

The EF-1 tornado is the second lowest-grade. The most powerful tornadoes are EF-5, which means they have winds greater than 200 mph. EF-0 tornadoes are the lowest, with 65 to 85 mph winds.

EF-1 twisters have 86 to 110 mph.

Despite the tree damage, officials said nobody was injured Thursday during the tornado's 2-mile course.

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