The National Weather Service has determined that the wind storm that caused significant damage yesterday in Anne Arundel County was, indeed, a tornado - an F1 on the Fujita scale, meaning its winds fell into the range of 73 to 112 mph. The Fujita Scale runs from F0 to a never-yet-observed F5.

Here is a link to a rather incomplete and disorganized, but interesting NWS page with links to reports on past Maryland tornadoes.

Here's the full text of today's report:

"...A TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN IN CENTRAL MARYLAND THURSDAY EVENING...

"THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CONDUCTED A STORM SURVEY IN SEVERNA
PARK AND PASADENA MARYLAND TODAY. FROM THIS SURVEY... INTERVIEWS
WITH EYEWITNESSES... NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SKYWARN SPOTTERS...
AND DOPPLER RADAR IMAGERY... IT WAS DETERMINED THAT A TORNADO
TOUCHED DOWN AROUND 6:30 PM IN CENTRAL MARYLAND IN THE AREA OF
SEVERNA PARK... AND TRAVELED TWO MILES BEFORE LIFTING IN PASADENA
MARYLAND AROUND 6:40 PM. AT ITS MAXIMUM THE STORM WAS 250 YARDS WIDE
WITH WINDS OF 90 MPH WITH A RANKING OF F1 ON THE FUJITA SCALE WHICH
RUNS FROM F0 TO F5. 33 HOMES WERE SEVERELY DAMAGED BY FALLING TREES
WITH 13 OF THOSE HOMES RENDERED UNINHABITABLE.

"INITIAL MINOR DAMAGE WAS LOCATED NEAR THE INTERSECTION OF RITCHIE
HIGHWAY ROUTE 2 AND MCKINSEY AVENUE. A HARDWARE STORE HAD ITS SIGN
BLOWN DOWN AND A SMALL TREE WAS DOWNED NEAR THE SEVERNA PARK
MARKETPLACE SHOPPING CENTER. A FEW TREES WERE ALSO DOWNED
IMMEDIATELY BEHIND THE SHOPPING CENTER ALONG LEELYNN ROAD.

"THE TORNADO GATHERED STRENGTH AS IT PROGRESSED THROUGH WEST RIDGE
AND TOWARDS CATTAIL CREEK OFF OF THE MAGOTHY RIVER. FIVE LARGE
HARDWOOD TREES OF ONE TO TWO FEET IN DIAMETER WERE UPROOTED... AND
SEVERAL OTHERS WERE SNAPPED OFF ALONG WHITTIER PARKWAY. TWO OF THE
LARGE TREES HAD FALLEN THROUGH HOUSES. THESE TREES... AS MOST OF THE
TREES WERE IN THE SURVEY... WERE BLOWN DOWN NEARLY PERPENDICULAR TO
THE PATH OF THE TORNADO... KNOCKED DOWN TOWARDS THE WEST.

"THE TORNADO THEN PASSED OVER A NORTHWEST EXTENSION OF THE MAGOTHY
RIVER CALLED CATTAIL CREEK... AND REACHED ITS MOST INTENSE AND
WIDEST EXTENT AS IT PASSED THROUGH THE COMMUNITY OF LOWER MAGOTHY
BEACH. IN THIS AREA WINDS WERE ESTIMATED TO HAVE REACHED 90 MPH. AT
ITS MAXIMUM THE STORM PASSED THROUGH A VACANT LOT BETWEEN NORTH
DRIVE AND SOUTH DRIVE. IN THAT AREA NEARLY EVERY TREE WAS UPROOTED
OR SNAPPED OFF AND BLOWN DOWN TO THE WEST. MANY OF THESE TREES WERE
LARGE TWO FOOT DIAMETER HARDWOOD TREES THAT WERE 60 TO 80 FEET TALL.
IT WAS EVEN NOTED THAT A SMALL SHRUB OF THREE FEET TALL WAS
UPROOTED... AN INDICATION THAT THE CIRCULATION REACHED ALL THE WAY
TO THE SURFACE. LEAF SPATTER WAS NOTED ON THE SIDES OF HOMES AND
VEHICLES. SLIGHT SIDING DAMAGE WAS NOTED ON ONE HOME. SEVERAL HOMES
HAD DAMAGE FROM TREES OR LARGE TREE BRANCHES FALLING INTO THEM. MANY
WIRES AND TELEPHONE POLES WERE KNOCKED DOWN IN THIS AREA. THE WIDTH
OF THE TORNADO AT THIS POINT WAS 250 YARDS.

"THE TORNADO THEN BEGAN TO WEAKEN AS IT PASSED JUST WEST OF HAMILTON
HARBOR MARINA AND CROSSED OVER THE COMMUNITY OF STEWARTS LANDING
BEFORE CROSSING OLD MAN CREEK INTO RIVERDALE. DURING THIS TIME MORE
TREES WERE BEING SNAPPED OFF THEN UPROOTED AS THE TORNADO WAS
BEGINNING TO LIFT OFF THE GROUND.

"IN THE RIVERDALE AREA... A FEW TREES AND SEVERAL LARGE BRANCHES WERE
DOWN. A SMALL GARAGE WAS DESTROYED BY A TREE. DAMAGE BECAME MUCH
MORE LIMITED AS THE TORNADO CONTINUED NORTH ACROSS NORWITCH ROAD AND
INVERNESS ROAD IN RIVERDALE. BY THE TIME THE STORM CROSSED THE
MAGOTHY FOR THE FINAL TIME AND TRAVELED OVER THE COMMUNITY OF
BEACHWOOD PARK... ONLY LEAF LITTER AND SMALL DOWNED BRANCHES WERE
NOTED."