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Notes about this page:

The following is a working document. All tornado data below are accurate to the best of our knowledge, but are considered preliminary and may be incomplete. The database contains tornadoes up to 2001. We are currently working on a project to update the regional tornado climatology from 1950 through current.

Prior to 1950, we are attempting to pull historical tornado data together from various sources to build one single data base of all tornadoes ever recorded in the Baltimore-Washington Forecast Office's area of responsibility. The historical tornadoes are listed in chronological order by county and by state. The counties are listed in alphabetical order. If you come across any historical information that could add to this document and help us in this process, please forward it to lwxwebmaster@noaa.gov .

The National Weather Service has transitioned to the Enhanced Fujita Scale (EF-Scale; see http://www.spc.noaa.gov/efscale/ for more information about the EF-Scale) since February 2007. This document references tornado damage through the old Fujita Damage Scale (F-Scale), which was used to determine the tornado strength based on observed damage prior to 2007. The damage scale increases in intensity from a weak F0 (40 to 70 mph wind) to a F5 (over 260 mph wind). 

Berkeley County

• May 30, 1889 at 1530 hours EST, a F2 tornado struck and moved northeast into Washington County, MD. Two people were killed and two more were injured. The damage path was 3 miles long and 70 yards wide. No other specifics are known. (Lat./Long. = ...)
• May 30, 1909 at an unknown time, a F2 tornado struck Falling Water near Martinsburg. A man was killed in a barn that was destroyed. No other specifics are known. (Lat./Long. = ...)
• August 16, 1954 at 1800 hours EST, a F1 tornado struck.  The damages and details are unknown.
• July 20, 1979 at 1215 hours EST, a F1 tornado struck 3 miles northeast of Martinsburg.  The damage path is unknown.  There was no one killed or injured. Damage was mainly to trees. (Lat./Long. = ...)
• October 2, 1979 at 2230 hours EST, a F2 tornado struck west of Martinsburg.  The damage path was 8 miles long from Shanghai to jones Springs and about 100 yards wide. There was no one killed but one person was injured. The tornado destroyed several mobile homes and a store. There was minor damage to other homes and cars and trees were uprooted. Damages were estimated at $100,000. (Lat./Long. = ...)
• August 17, 1994 at 1640 hours EST, a F1 tornado struck Hedgeville.  The damage path was 2 miles long and about 100 yards wide. There was no injuries. The tornado touched down near Route 9 and Benspeck Road about a quarter a mile west of Hedgeville. It damaged 3 homes, partially destroying one. It also damaged a shed and uprooted trees. Damages were estimated at $50,000. (Lat./Long. = ...)
• June 16, 1998 at 1643 hours EST, a F0 tornado struck Ridgeway.  This was the second of six small tornadoes spawned from a small HP Supercell that moved north to Hagerstown. The damage path was 1 miles long and about 50 yards wide. There was no injuries. The tornado took down trees. One fell on mobile home and two more on houses.  Damages were estimated at $50,000. (Lat./Long. = ...)
• June 16, 1998 at 1708 hours EST, a F1 tornado struck 4 miles east of Martinsburg.  It was the third tornado spawned by the storm mentioned above. The damage path was 1 miles long and about 150 yards wide. There was no fatalities nor injuries. The tornado moved through a rural community damaging a large garage/machine sheda dn about a dozen trees at Swan Pond Orchard. It moved through a heavily wooded area then struck a large farm peeling the roof off a large barn, flipping a trailer, and blowing doors off an airplane hanger. Damages were estimated at $100,000. (Lat./Long. = ...)
• July 30, 1998 at 1700 hours EST, a F1 tornado struck Bunker Hill.  The damage path was 1 mile long and about 150 yards wide. There was no fatalities nor injuries. The tornado touched down along Tory Town Road and moved east-southeast along Sam Mason Road crossing I-81 before dissipating just beyond Federal Highway 11. The tornado was multi-vortex with 5 small vortices seen spinning around it. It oushed a wall in on a home, uprooted a tree onto a parked utility vehicle and destroyed a barn. Along Sam Mason Road, it damaged and snapped numerous trees. One was uprooted onto a house and it caused substantial damage to an adjacent shop. Several sheds were damaged and two horses were injured. Damages were estimated at $85,000. (Lat./Long. = ...)
• Tornado Summary Table:

Total #	#F0/F1	#F2/F3	#F4/F5	Deaths	Injuries	Damages
9	6	3	0	3	3	$385,000 +

• June 18, 1997 at 1415 hours EST, a F0 tornado struck 2 miles east of Petersburg.  The damage path was 0.3 miles long and only 20 yards wide. There was no one killed or injured. Damages were limited to a wooded area. The tornado cut a distinct 500 yard path through the trees. (Lat./Long. = ...)
• August 9, 1998 at 1800 hours EST, a F0 tornado struck 1 miles south of Petersburg.  The damage path was 0.5 miles long and only 33 yards wide. No one was injured. The tornado moved northeast uprooting and snapping trees. A roadside produce stand a front porch on a home was damaged. Damages and clean up costs were estimated at $15,000. (Lat./Long. = ...)
• Tornado Summary Table:

Total #	#F0/F1	#F2/F3	#F4/F5	Deaths	Injuries	Damages
2	2	0	0	0	0	$15,000

• None Reported
• Tornado Summary Table:

Total #	#F0/F1	#F2/F3	#F4/F5	Deaths	Injuries	Damages
0	0	0	0	0	0	$0

• June 2, 1998 at 1932 hours EST, a F1 tornado struck from near Donaldson to Levels. The damage path was 8 miles long and up to 150 yards wide. There was no fatalities nor injures. This was at least the third tornado spawned from a thunderstorm that began in western PA. The tornado came down off a ridge west of Donaldson and did minor damage to a few homes and destroyed a gazebo as it crossed the valley and went up over the next ridge. In the next valley it struck near Levels were it mowed a path through treesbut did not damage any homes. The associated hail with the storm did considerable damage to orchards and trees. Tornado damage was estimated at $25,000.  (Lat./Long. = ...)
• June 2, 1998 at 2150 hours EST, a F1 tornado moved into the county 2.5 miles south of Junction from Mineral County. The damage path was 5 miles long in Hampshire County and about 100 yards wide. There was no fatalities, but 5 people were injured in trailers. The tornado crossed Patternson Creek Mountain and struck a community along Davy Road about 2.5 to 3 miles south of Junction. Several mobile homes were overturned and split apart. Numerous trees were uprooted and snapped. Tornado damage was estimated at $100,000.  (Lat./Long. = ...)
• Tornado Summary Table:

Total #	#F0/F1	#F2/F3	#F4/F5	Deaths	Injuries	Damages
2	2	0	0	0	5	$125,000

• August 26, 1965 at 1630 hours EST, a F1 tornado struck. Details are not known at this time.  (Lat./Long. = ...)
• November 15, 1989 at 0445 hours EST, a F2 tornado struck near Charles Town and moved northeast to Hagerstown.   The damage path was 4 miles long in the county and about 100 yards wide. There was no fatalities, but 3 people were injured in a trailer. The tornado destroyed a mobile home, a garage, trees and damaged some farm buildings.  Damage was estimated at $100,000.  (Lat./Long. = ...)
• Tornado Summary Table:

Total #	#F0/F1	#F2/F3	#F4/F5	Deaths	Injuries	Damages
2	1	1	0	0	3	$100,000

• June 2, 1998 at 1930 hours EST, a F1 tornado struck the northeast portion of the County and moved into Hampshire County west of Donaldson. The damage path was only 0.5 miles long and up to 100 yards wide before exiting the county. There was no fatalities nor injures. Damage was limited to trees and some utility lines. Damage were estimated at $2,000.  (Lat./Long. = ...)
• June 2, 1998 at 2125 hours EST, a F2 tornado struck 5 miles west of New Creek, moved through New Creek and moved east across the county following the Route 50 corridor to Hampshire County. The damage path was 12 miles long and up to 150 yards wide. There was no fatalities nor injures. Several houses and businesses were damaged. One house in New Creek was severly damaged. One mobile home was rolled and another was destroyed. An aluminum barn was destroyed in Ridgeville. Heavily wooded areas were leveled nea New Creek were the tornado was at its strongest. Damage was estimated at $150,000.  (Lat./Long. = ...)
• Tornado Summary Table:

Total #	#F0/F1	#F2/F3	#F4/F5	Deaths	Injuries	Damages
2	1	1	0	0	0	$150,000

• August 17, 1994 at 1515 hours EST, a F0 tornado struck 1.5 miles west of Paw Paw. The damage path was 3 miles long and up to 100 yards wide. There wwere no injures. The tornado moved northeast along the southeast side of the Potomac River. It caused widespread tree damage.  (Lat./Long. = ...)
• Tornado Summary Table:

Total #	#F0/F1	#F2/F3	#F4/F5	Deaths	Injuries	Damages
1	1	0	0	0	0	$0

• June 2, 1970 at 1525 hours EST, a F1 tornado struck. No details at this time. (Lat./Long. = ...)
• June 27, 1998 at 2030 hours EST, a F0 tornado struck 3 miles northwest of Ruddle. The damage path was 0.3 miles long and about 50 yards wide. There was no fatalities nor injures. The tornado moved through a turkey farm blowing the roof off one of the turkey houses and sucking out the insulation. Damages wwere $8,000.  (Lat./Long. = ...)
• Tornado Summary Table:

Total #	#F0/F1	#F2/F3	#F4/F5	Deaths	Injuries	Damages
2	2	0	0	0	0	$8,000