While parts of Maryland and Virginia were hit by flash floods, strong winds and tornadoes on Friday night, the Southern Maryland region got through the night unscathed. While there were numerous watches and warnings, including a Tornado Warning in Charles County, no major damage was reported.
 
A tornado warning was activated late Friday afternoon for Charles County when rotation was detected over Marbury. That storm passed over Indian Head, Bryans Road and Accokeek without a tornado touching the ground. The very same cell caused major problems in Prince George’s County and even prompted a Tornado Warning in Washington, DC.
 
Charles County Government Public Information Officer Crystal Hunt confirmed that there had been no damage in the western portion of the county and told TheBAYNET that the county made it through without problems. There were power outages in the region, but the power stayed on for most of the time.
 
In St. Mary’s County, there were reports of downed trees and isolated incidents of minor flooding, but that county also reported no major damage.
 
Despite the severe weather threat and what was described as a legitimate severe weather outbreak, much of the damage was to the north, primarily in Carroll County, Frederick County, Howard County and Montgomery County. For the State of Maryland, the bulk of the destruction was in Mt. Airy, Damascus and Westminster. There were also reports of a tornado hitting BWI-Marshall Airport in Baltimore but there had not yet been confirmation. There has also been no confirmation on whether or not a tornado hit Mt. Airy or Damascus.
 
There was also flash flooding in Northern Virginia and portions of DC and Prince George’s County.
 
Forecasters had warned in advance that the storm systems that hit on Friday had the same signatures as the storms that spawned the College Park tornado in September 2001 and the La Plata tornado in April 2002 and had placed Maryland directly in the target of the storms. A warm front moved through in the afternoon and evening spawning most of the severe weather before a cold front pushed through the region. Most of the severe weather came from the warm front. 
 
The cold front that passed over the region is expected to lead to picture-perfect weather during the weekend, with highs in the mid-70s on Saturday and Sunday.
 
While Southern Maryland escaped the worst of the storm, the heavily populated city of Hampton, Virginia was hit hard when what appeared to be a tornado tore through the downtown area causing severe damage.