...EF-1 TORNADO CONFIRMED NEAR BEL AIR MD...

LOCATION...PLEASANT HILLS IN HARFORD COUNTY MD
DATE...JUNE 1 2012 
ESTIMATED TIME...5:56 PM TO 5:59 PM EDT 
MAXIMUM EF-SCALE RATING...EF-1 
MAXIMUM WIND SPEED...100 MPH 
MAXIMUM PATH WIDTH...300 YARDS
LENGTH...1.25 MILES 
BEGINNING LAT/LON...39.487N / 76.393W 
ENDING LAT/LON...39.504N / 76.388W
* FATALITIES...NONE
* INJURIES...2

* THE INFORMATION IN THIS STATEMENT IS PRELIMINARY AND SUBJECT TO 
CHANGE PENDING FINAL REVIEW OF THE EVENT/S/ AND PUBLICATION IN NWS 
STORM DATA.

...SUMMARY...

A TEAM FROM THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CONDUCTED A GROUND SURVEY OF 
DAMAGE NEAR PLEASANT HILLS IN HARFORD COUNTY MD. BASED ON THIS SURVEY 
ALONG WITH RADAR DATA AND EYEWITNESS ACCOUNTS THE TEAM DETERMINED THAT 
AN EF-1 TORNADO HIT THE PLEASANT HILLS AREA TWO MILES SOUTHWEST OF BEL 
AIR MARYLAND.

INITIAL TREE DAMAGE WAS NOTED IN THE STONEYBROOK COMMUNITY ALONG 
STREAMSIDE DRIVE. THE TORNADO CROSSED MOUNTAIN ROAD AND THEN TRAVELED
ALONG THE MANY STRIP MALLS AND BUSINESSES ALONG THE ROUTE 1-BEL AIR 
ROAD CORRIDOR IN PLEASANT HILLS. THE SURVEY TEAM FOUND MANY DOWNED 
WIRES AND TREES IN THIS AREA AS WELL AS MANY BUSINESS SIGNS BLOWN OUT. 
ROOF AND SIDING DAMAGE WAS ALSO NOTED ON SEVERAL PROPERTIES. A DENTIST 
OFFICE IN THE 2300 BLOCK OF BEL AIR LOST A PORTION OF ITS ROOT. SOME 
DEBRIS AND SIGNS WERE CARRIED A HALF MILE ALONG THE TORNADO TRACK.

THE TORNADO REACHED ITS PEAK INTENSITY ALONG WEST GROVE AVENUE AND
EUTAW PLACE. THE BUSINESSES IN THIS AREA WERE SEVERELY DAMAGED. 
WAREHOUSES HAD THEIR FRONT DOORS AND WINDOWS BLOWN OUT AND THEN HAD 
SIGNIFICANT ROOF AND WALL DAMAGE AS THE WINDS EXITED THE STRUCTURES. 
A LIGHT PICKUP TRUCK WAS PICKED UP BY THE WIND AND OVERTURNED. A SMALL 
OFFICE AND STORAGE CONCRETE BLOCK STRUCTURE WAS UNROOFED AND THEN HAD 
ITS WALLS BLOWN IN. THE FALLING BLOCKS FELL ON TWO MEN SHELTERING 
INSIDE WHO WERE INJURED.

A NEARBY WAL-MART PARKING LOT HAD STREET SIGN AND SOME TREE DAMAGE. THE 
TORNADO CREATED CHAOTIC TREE DAMAGE ALONG HARFORD ROAD JUST WEST OF 
CONNELLY ROAD IN A RESIDENTIAL AREA BEFORE LIFTING.