Tornadoes Touch Down In MD, Rescues In MoCo: County

MARYLAND — A tornado touched down Wednesday evening in Baltimore, Howard and Montgomery counties, multiple reports said. Structures were damaged in Gaithersburg, with emergency crews dispatched to help people trapped inside.

There are reports of two likely tornados touching down in Montgomery County, officials said about 11 p.m. The National Weather Service and emergency officials are doing ground assessments to confirm the twisters.

Montgomery County public safety officials report that at least four houses were damaged by downed trees. There have been five non-life-threatening injuries reported.

WMAR reported at 8:12 p.m. that a twister was confirmed in Cockeysville.

FOX 45 reported at 8:17 p.m. that a tornado was on the ground near Reisterstown.

The National Weather Service said at 7:37 p.m. a tornado was seen by a spotter near Poolesville.

Related: 2 Tornadoes Strike Montgomery County: Emergency Officials

Pete Piringer, spokesman for Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services, shared video from Dogwood Drive in Gaithersburg of a tree that crashed into a house, trapping four of the five residents inside. All were rescued from the home, some with injuries.

6/5 ~745p Deer Park neighborhood @GburgMD pic.twitter.com/KzLTYSp3Rc
— Pete Piringer (@mcfrsPIO) June 6, 2024

An area command has been set up by Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services in the Walnut Hill Shopping Center in Gaithersburg, the department said. They are going door to door asking residents if there are any needs for 911 and electric power statuses.

The Sykesville Fire Department reported a possible tornado in Eldersburg, with Carroll County emergency workers responding, The Washington Post said. Officials are checking 10 structures for damage in southern Carroll County, Sykesville Fire Department spokesperson Bill Rehkopf told the Post. At least one house was damaged by a fallen tree.

The NWS also said a confirmed tornado was reported in Arbutus at 8:55 p.m..

The Bowley's Quarters Volunteer Fire Company was called to a mobile home park in Middle River for reports of storm damage.

Neighborhood resident April McKissick told Patch she was simply glad everyone’s alive and that nobody lost their home.“It sounded like a train was coming through. It was very scary. … I just started panicking and freaking out and grabbing my kids and didn’t know what to do.

“We looked out the door, and everything was flying around. And debris was going everywhere. … It was definitely the, you know, the tunnel-looking thing like ‘Wizard of Oz’ it looked like,” McKissick said.

The supercell produced rotation in several areas, leading to the National Weather Service to issues tornado warnings in multiple counties, including Baltimore, Howard, Anne Arundel and Carroll counties.

WTOP's Dave Dildine described a tornado passing over him in Gaithersburg on Wednesday evening.

“It’s swirling, the sky is swirling like a top. I can confirm there is a tornado on the ground in Gaithersburg," Dildine said. "I am just off of Quince Orchard Road, the circulation to my east. … A couple of small branches were taken down, this is not a very powerful tornado at this point but that can change rapidly and that’s why you’re inside, in a basement.”

The radar confirmed tornado was spotted over Germantown at 7:28 p.m. moving east at 25 mph, WTOP said.

The National Weather Service said the tornado was in the area of Germantown, Rockville, Gaithersburg, Olney, Aspen Hill, Montgomery Village and Redland around 7:35 p.m.

The Montgomery County Office of Emergency Management said on X about 8 p.m. that "a confirmed tornado has been located over Gaithersburg."

Two structures were damaged with people trapped inside, said Pete Piringer, spokesman for Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services. One building was at 3 Holly Drive and the other was at 200 Rolling Road in Gaithersburg.

Poolesville, Maryland, tornado ⁦@MontgomeryCoMD⁩ pic.twitter.com/baqGoIqLhO
— Pete Piringer (@mcfrsPIO) June 5, 2024

The weather service described the tornado as “large, extremely dangerous and potentially deadly.”

Montgomery County Fire and Rescue spokesperson Pete Piringer said on X that the twister collapsed multiple structures in Gaithersburg, trapping people inside. Structures were collapsed on Rolling Road, Holly Drive and Dogwood Drive near Tulip Drive, he posted.