KeynoteUSA—
At least one person was seriously injured after a tornado ripped through parts of Montgomery County, Maryland, just north of Washington, D.C., on Wednesday night, authorities say.
In Gaithersburg, Maryland, five people were trapped in a home after it collapsed during the storm and have since been rescued, Montgomery County Deputy Fire and Rescue Chief David Pazos told KeynoteUSA. One of those residents is being taken to the hospital with traumatic injuries.
A spokesperson for the county’s fire and rescue service previously said that on Day X there were several reports of structure collapses with people trapped inside in Gaithersburg, a densely populated suburb with about 70,000 residents. The National Weather Service’s DC area office said the tornado was spotted in Montgomery County shortly after 7:35 p.m. ET.
A tornado was also reported over Arbutus, Maryland, near Baltimore, around 8:55 p.m. ET, the National Weather Service office said, moving east at 25 mph. Details on what damage the tornado caused, if any, were not immediately available. More than 400,000 people reside in the area covered by a warning issued for that second tornado.
Regarding the Gaithersburg tornado: Several people were removed from damaged structures and transported to hospitals, emergency officials said.
The Baltimore Weather Service office also warned of high waves and winds for the Chesapeake Bay from Pooles Island to Sandy Point, including Baltimore Harbor, until 10:15 pm ET.
tornado in my backyard @MaxVelocityWX @Jeff_Piotrowski @ReedTimmerUSA #twister #mdwx pic.twitter.com/QSJ9wjmy7F
—Ari Perlman (@AriPerlman3) June 5, 2024
Montgomery County emergency management officials said the first tornado occurred over Gaithersburg, about 22 miles northwest of Washington, DC, shortly after 7:40 p.m. ET.
Photos and videos from social media showed a moderate to large funnel on the ground as the storm moved east through parts of Gaithersburg toward Olney. The storm crossed I-270 around 7:30 pm ET.
Inside the tornado in Gaithersburg @dougkammerer @nbcwashington pic.twitter.com/q9cnDgSX0e
—Mark Monis (@Monisrocks1995) June 6, 2024
Weak tornadoes are not uncommon in the DC region, but only a few in recorded history have been EF3 or stronger. In 2002, an F4 tornado devastated parts of La Plata, Maryland, south of DC. That storm killed three people and caused more than $100 million in damage, according to data from the National Weather Service.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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