Dargan MD Tornado On 2/16/25

On the afternoon of February 16th 2025, a brief tornado touched down in the town in extreme eastern Jefferson county WV, and tracked into the town of Dargan MD in Washington county. This tornado touched down at approximately 2:40pm, and had a path length of approximately .50 miles. Along the path, the tornado caused extensive tree damage. In the Glen Haven Neighborhood across the river from Dargan, numerous large trees were snapped, and many large branches as well. Near the Dargan boat ramp, numerous trees were uprooted and snapped along a narrow concentrated path, several of which fell on cars resulting in significant damage. The tornado traveled northeast towards Back Road where the path of snapped and uprooted trees continued. Along Back Road, a swath of severe tree damage occured, with a few trees being twisted, and many uprooted and snapped. Along its path, NWS notes that winds changed directions, indicating that rotation was present. Due to the terrain, it is difficult to determine if the tornado continued much past Back Road, but radar data suggests the mesocyclone began to weaken and the tornado likely lifted shortly after crossing the road. Based on the severity of the tree damage, the tornado was likely an EF1 with estimated winds of 90mph. 

The NWS surveyed the damage and believes this was a 90mph microburst. We do respect that, however, there are several reasons why we believe this was a tornado and not a microburst. 

1. Radar data clearly shows a low level mesocyclone with a tight circulation embedded within the line of storms. So, there was clearly rotation within the thunderstorm. In addition, there is a hook echo associated with the velocity couplet. The velocity couplet extends up to 2,000 feet, which for a low topped thunderstorm would still be considered substantial vertical continuity. 

2. The environment primarily favored tornadoes and not microburst. There was exceptionally strong low level winds that day resulting in very strong wind shear. The sun came out ahead of this line of storms, adding to instability. These are the 2 most important ingredients for tornado formation. In addition, the storms were riding a warm front, so it makes sense that a tornado occured since warm fronts add extra lift and low level shear. 

3. If this was a microburst or straight line winds, the path width would be much wider, and there would be additional damage reports along the line. There were no additional reports of damage outside this narrow area, so its highly unlikely that this was a straight line wind event. Microbursts typically have a path width of 1/2-2 miles, and it would be extremely unusual for one to be this small. 


​DISCLAIMER: This article does not reflect the opinion of the entire team. This was independently written by Senior Forecaster Jack