Tornado Touches Down In Cecil County During Weekend Storm: NWS

RISING SUN, MD — A small tornado formed near Rising Sun in Cecil County Saturday as part of a multi-state storm system that spawned dozens of tornadoes from the South to the Northeast and killed over two dozen people, authorities said.

The National Weather Service said the Ef1 tornado had peak winds of 90 mph and was active for 6 minutes, ending at 6:41 p.m. Saturday. Weather officials said it started 3 miles northeast of Rising Sun and was on the ground for 4.4 miles. The tornado was 125 yards wide and ended 2 miles southwest of Providence.

No injuries were reported from the tornado or debris scattered by the winds.

A severe thunderstorm produced the tornado just east Of Rising Sun, and it touched down near the village of Calvert. As the twister moved toward Calvert Regional Park and Rising Sun High School it uprooted and snapped trees, caused some minor structural damage and destroyed fencing, the NWS said.

More than 100 trees were damaged in the area, the NWS survey said, along with shingles being removed, soffit, fascia, and siding damaged, and other minor structural damage to homes and businesses. At the park, portable toilets were broken and moved more than 300 yards into fields to the north of the storm's track. A small barn collapsed and was thrown into a field.

The twister in northeast Maryland was part of a larger system that caused destruction from Arkansas to Illinois before moving into Tennessee and across the East Coast, resulting in almost 60 preliminary tornado reports, according to AccuWeather. At least 27 people have died in connection with the severe weather.

As of Monday morning, 66 of the dozens of reported tornadoes from Friday have already been confirmed by National Weather Service officials, including one EF4 tornado in southeastern Iowa with winds estimated to be between 166 and 200 mph, AccuWeather reported.

The Federal Aviation Administration's terminal Doppler Weather Radar in
Pennsauken Township, New Jersey, depicted an image that matched the path of the tornado damage.

Additional scattered tree damage In northern Cecil County was determined by the NWS to be caused by straight-line winds.