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EF-0 tornado confirmed in St. Mary's County

The tornado formed as storms rolled through the area Wednesday evening.

ST. MARY'S COUNTY, Md. — The National Weather Service (NWS) has confirmed an EF-0 tornado formed in Mechanicsville, Maryland Wednesday evening. 

As storms rolled through St. Mary's County, a tornado briefly spawned for three minutes starting at 8:42 p.m. 

NWS reports the severe weather was due to the merger of two different thunderstorms. The cells merged over central Charles County between LaPlata and Dentsville before heading east towards St. Mary's County, where the tornado occurred. 

The tornado reportedly touched down around a large group of homes, 200 yards away from the intersection of Route 5 and Route 235, according to NWS. 

"It is believed that the tornado went right over this enclave of residences due to the random direction of tree falls," the report from NWS says. 

Officials say due to tree damages the wind speeds are estimated to have been around 85 miles per hour.

The winds caused one tree to fall onto the roof of a home, causing damage, NWS reports. While the homeowner was inside at the time of the storm, no injuries were reported. 

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