2020 Abingdon-Havre De Grace Tornado

The 2020 Abingdon-Havre De Grace Tornado was an extremely powerful and catastrophic EF5 wedge tornado that struck 4 towns in Harford County, Maryland on April 16, 2020. The massive tornado killed 77 people and injured 232 others along its 13 mile path, and left behind catastrophic damage. It is the deadliest, strongest, largest, and costliest tornado in Maryland history, and the second deadliest on the East Coast, only behind the 1953 Worcester Tornado. A state of emergency was declared in Maryland the next day, and later, a disaster declaration was issued for Harford County.

The Tornado
The tornado was spawned from a storm that had produced a weak tornado in Baltimore County a bit earlier. It touched down in a wooded area near the town of Abingdon at 4:47PM. The tornado was initially weak, producing EF0-EF1 damage to trees. It was also somewhat small, only 300-400 yards wide.

At 4:49PM, the tornado dramatically intensified into a violent EF4 tornado as it demolished a church. The tornado reached High End-EF4 intensity as it crossed Abingdon Road into a neighborhood of Abingdon. Many homes in this area were destroyed or severely damaged. Then, the tornado intensified into an extremely violent EF5 tornado. 4 well built homes were swept away completely, with anchor bolts remaining. Around these homes, trees were uprooted and debarked, and the ground and pavement were severely scoured. The tornado then weakened into a Mid End-EF4 tornado as it continued through the neighborhood. It eventually exited and weakened into an EF3 tornado. In Abingdon, 12 people were killed and 43 others were hurt, some critically.

The tornado, now an EF3 continued its track directly on Route 7. Many cars on this road were thrown and mangled, killing and injuring several occupants. The tornado struck a small bar at EF3 intensity, destroying it.