NOTTINGHAM, MD—Sunday’s severe storms wreaked havoc on northeastern Baltimore County.

Storms moved into the area during the evening hours and lasted for several hours, producing intense lightning and heavy rains.

The National Weather Service has determined that the storm produced a microburst in the Perry Hall area.

A microburst is a downdraft (sinking air) in a thunderstorm that is less than 2.5 miles in scale.  Although microbursts are not as widely recognized as tornadoes, they can cause comparable, and in some cases, worse damage than some tornadoes produce. In fact, wind speeds as high as 150 mph are possible in extreme microburst cases.

The microburst snapped trees along Chapel Road, some of which blocked roads and fell into homes.  Downed trees also closed Harford Road in the areas of Factory Road and Long Green Pike in Glen Arm, according to the Long Green Volunteer Fire Company.

Elsewhere, the storms produced winds that knocked a shopping cart station into vehicles at the Perry Hall Safeway.  The Planet Fitness in Perry Hall also sustained damage, according to witness reports.

Isolated thunderstorms are possible once again in the Baltimore area on Monday.

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