A late season heat wave will continue across portions of California into the Desert Southwest. Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Milton is strengthening in the southwest Gulf of Mexico. Milton is expected to become a major hurricane and bring significant impacts to Florida this upcoming week. Read More >
Public Information Statement National Weather Service Baltimore MD/Washington DC 601 PM EDT Thu May 30 2019 ...NWS STORM SURVEY RESULTS FOR BALTIMORE AND HARFORD COUNTIES MARYLAND FROM STORMS OCCURRING ON WEDNESDAY MAY 29 2019... Staff from the National Weather Service Baltimore/Washington Weather Forecast Office completed storm surveys in portions of the northern Baltimore Metropolitan Area on Wednesday afternoon, May 29, 2019. The Fallston and Baldwin area of west-central Harford County was impacted by a macroburst, which produced damaging wind gusts estimated at 80-90 MPH. A macroburst is defined by Fujita (University of Chicago, 1985) as a large downburst with winds extending in excess of 2.5 miles long. A concentrated area of damage was observed starting at Moores Road in Baldwin, extending discontinuously for approximately 3.25 miles to the east, ending at Pleasantville Road in Fallston. In this area, numerous observations of tree damage were observed. The tree damage included mainly large limbs of hardwood trees and snaps of about a dozen pine trees. Several single family homes were impacted with limbs falling onto rooftops. All tree damage fell in an easterly direction, with eyewitness time estimates of occurrence between 600-615 PM. An image circulating among residents showed what appears to be a roll cloud, representing the leading edge of the gusty winds. Frequently, roll clouds are mistakingly identified as a funnel cloud or a tornado, but they lack the laminar, streamlined condensation cloud of a funnel cloud which would be attached to the cumulus cloud base. Storm Relative Velocity at the 0.5 degree elevation angle from the FAA`s Terminal Doppler Weather Radar at BWI Thurgood International Airport clearly shows a divergent pattern at 610 PM across the region, indicative of a downburst windfield, which coincides with time estimates by eyewitnesses. The other region of the northern Baltimore Metropolitan area that was adversely impacted by Wednesday afternoon`s severe storms was the White Marsh region of eastern Baltimore County. This area was also impacted with a macroburst, which caused straight-line wind damage. Two wooden telephone poles were snapped along Silver Spring Road, and numerous trees and branches were downed along Saxon Circle. All observed tree damage fell to the northeast. Additionally, the Baltimore County Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management reported the easternmost wind damage in Middle River, near the intersection of Ebenezer and Bird River Roads. The western most damage reported was near the intersection of Yvonne Ave and Silver Spring Rd in Nottingham. There were approximately 18 instances of tree damage between these two locations, with the horizontal distance of about 4 miles. The FAA`s Terminal Doppler Weather Radar at BWI Thurgood International Airport clearly shows a 0.5 degree elevation angle radial velocity downburst/divergent wind pattern at 555 PM. The snapping of the telephone poles and nature of the reported and observed tree damage produces an estimate of 80-90 MPH wind. The National Weather Service Baltimore/Washington Weather Forecast Office would like to thank the Harford County Department of Emergency Services and the Baltimore County Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management for their assistance in the storm surveys. $$ Lee