Funnel cloud photos from June 9 storm
The National Weather Service has begun to receive and pass along eyewitnesses' photos of a funnel cloud that formed in the outer portion of Baltimore Harbor last Tuesday, June 9. The twister formed as a strong gust front passed over the city, along with a thunderstorm and brief, heavy rains.
The same storm was blamed for spawning a small (EF-0) tornado that ripped through a one-mile-long portion of Dundalk shortly after 5 p.m., but it does not appear that the funnel cloud in these 
photos was the same one that caused the damage in Dundalk, according to Steve Zubrick, science and operations office at the weather service's Sterling forecast office.
The funnel cloud that passed over the outer harbor, just north of the southern portal of the Harbor Tunnel, was captured by at least two amateur photogaphers, at around 5:12 p.m.
One was Dr. Benjamin Petre, M.D., an orthopaedic surgery resident at Johns Hopkins Hospital. His pictures (one of them is at left)were shot from his home on Bouldin St. in Highlandtown. We use one here with his permission.
He said, "I was taking my dog outside because she is terrified of storms. I saw the clouds doing some funny things and went up to my roofdeck. When I saw the tornado I took some iPhone pictures! It only lasted [about ] one minute. But it was cool to see. I was facing due south towards 1st Mariner [tower]."
Here are Zubrick's comments on the Petre image:
"The pictures Dr. Petre took [were] of a 2nd funnel cloud. It was NOT the same as the tornado that hit Dundalk. Based on a combination of a weak signature in the TDWR/BWI radar and Dr. Petre's image times from his cell phone camera (which I believe to be accurate) ... his images are of a funnel that occurred between [about 5:10 and 5:15 PM EDT (i.e., before the Dundalk EF-0 tornado) ... and this funnel was likely a waterspout."
The second picture sent to Zubrick at the NWS was a video shot from a car that was northbound, approaching the south portal of the Harbor Tunnel. The view is to the east southeast. It was shot by Josh and Jessie Klein. We will post it here when they call us back (or email me at frank.roylance@baltsun.com) and give us permission. It shows the spinning cloud column over the harbor.
Here is a photo of the June 9 gust front as it passed through Timonium, shot by Chris Shea, looking northeast:
And here are more observations from Zubrick about the harbor funnel cloud:
"It's complicated what to call it ... funnel cloud ... waterspout ... are probably the two things most closely associated with it. However ... there's no known damage or evidence this circulation thing ever reached the surface, so you can't call it a tornado. The most likely thing to call it is a waterspout (assuming it was over water the whole time).
"It lasted much longer than a gustnado, and was probably in existence, based on radar data, for over 5 minutes. It likely formed just west of the Harbor Tunnel area along the strong gust front as a gustnado. Or it possibly could have simply formed via a 'landspout' process. This means an updraft became co-located over a surface boundary (like a gust front) and tilted the horizontal spin ... up into the vertical ... That vertical axis doesn't have to be exactly perpendicular to the ground, as the photos suggest in this case).
"If it was a landspout (and reached the surface) it would technically be called a 'dust-tube tornado" (the term 'landspout" is a slang term ...)."
As for the June 9 Dundalk tornado, Zubrick provided the track map below, based on radar and his inspection of the damage. It shows the tornado's path (bold red line between two fainter red lines) across Dundalk. North is up; the curvy yellow road running north and south is Merritt Boulevard.
The inset photo was provided to the NWS by WJZ, but Zubrick was unable to determine its origins, and has some suspicion about the "funnel" cloud it seems to show. It is quite likely the blurred image of the car's windshield wiper. Here are Zubrick's comments about the Dundalk tornado:
"The damage caused in and around Berkshire Road in Dundalk just west of Merritt Boulevard on June 9 around 5:20 PM EDT was due to a brief (1-2 minute) [approx.] 1-mile-long track EF-0 tornado.
"The damage from the Dundalk tornado appears to stop shortly after it crossed Merritt Blvd...but I did not do an extensive survey much further east of that...but a check with the Baltimore County emergency management official I toured the area with said there was no reported damage east of where I surveyed.
"... And if it moved over the water, I have no reports of any waterspouts east of Dundalk. However, I do have photos of what appears to be a swirl in the water off Gibson Island near the Baltimore Lighthouse that was supposedly taken that day (Jun 9)...but I don't have the details (who/what/when) of the photos...so I can't verify it"
