OTD in 2021: 3 tornadoes strike carroll and frederick counties
On this day in 2021, a warm front resulted in rotating supercell thunderstorms across northern Maryland during the evening hours. As a result, 3 tornadoes touched down in Frederick and Carroll counties, resulting in fairly significant damage. Warm fronts are notorious for causing surprise tornadoes, in an otherwise relatively meager severe weather set up. And that was certainly the case for this event.
Mount Pleasant Tornado:
The first tornado touched down in eastern Frederick county near the town of Mount Pleasant. The first evidence of tornadic damage was on Old Annapolis Road, where tree limbs were blown down. The tornado moved off to the northeast, resulting in several clusters of snapped trees in forested areas between Old Annapolis Road and Chestnut Grove Road. Numerous trees were snapped or had their tops snapped off. A concentrated area of tree damage occured on Chestnut Grove Road north of Alton Road where many trees were snapped and uprooted, before the tornado dissipated. This tornado was rated EF1 with maximum winds of 90mph, a path width of just over 300 yards, and a path length of a little more than 3/4th of a mile.
Unionville Tornado:
The next tornado, spawned from the same supercell, touched down in Unionville, a small town in western Carroll County. This tornado touched down approximately 1/3 of a mile north of Weldon Creek, just west of Barnes Road. Here, it snapped and uprooted more than two dozen trees. Right after it cleared this forested area, it moved into a farm field, where farm equipment was blown over. At the farm about 100 yards west of Barnes Road, significant damage occured. Several farm structures suffered significant loss of roofing, and several sheds were blown down. After hitting the farm, it crossed over Barnes Road and resulted in additional tree damage before it lifted. This tornado was also rated EF1 with 90mph winds. It was on the ground for 0.66 miles, and was approximately 250 yards wide.
New Windsor Tornado:
The last tornado occured in western Carroll County in the town of New Windsor. This tornado was the weakest and the shortest lived. The tornado first touched-down about 500 yards to the NNE of Marston Road, where several trees were blown down. The tornado continued northeast, downing a few more trees in a nearby wooded area. At a private residence about 350 yards west of Bowersox Road, a shed was destroyed, and a roof was blown off a cattle run, resulting in its collapse. The tornado continued briefly into a wooded area behind the residence, downing several more trees before lifting. This tornado was rated EF0 with max winds of 80mph. It was 125 yards wide, and on the ground for just 1/4 of a mile.
