In Sparrows Point, two steel mill workers were temporarily stranded in the cab of a crane that collapsed beneath them during the storm just after 4 p.m.
Lt. Pierre Thode of the Baltimore County Fire Department said the men reached safety, uninjured, by climbing down a long ladder extended from a fire truck.
Thode said the men weren't pinned in the cab but were left without a way down when the crane's ladder gave way in the collapse. The crane had been unloading ore from a barge.
In Calvert County, the sheriff's office said several tornado sightings were reported, but none appeared to touch down. Authorities said trees fell on homes in North Beach, but no injuries were reported.
On the Eastern Shore, westbound U.S. 50 was closed for more than an hour during the evening rush because of a downed tree near U.S. 301. And in the town of Preston, volunteer firefighters scrambled to remove several trees that toppled onto houses.
No injuries were reported.
"We had winds up to 53 mph and a gust of 60," said Cheryl Sparks, a spokeswoman for the Maryland Transportation Authority at the Bay Bridge.
In southern Washington County, officials reported downed trees and utility poles. Jason Kline of Washington County Emergency Services called damage near Sharpsburg and Rohrersville "significant" but he said no tornadoes had been confirmed.
Afternoon storms also hampered removal of a cement truck overturned on Interstate 70 in the Frederick area.
The storm disrupted MARC commuter train service, halting the Brunswick and Camden lines because of fallen trees.
Amy Novotney, who works near Union Station in Washington, said she could not take her usual route home on the Camden line from South Baitimore because of the weather but made it to her home in Federal Hill with a slight detour via the Penn line.
"And it was packed, standing room only," Novotney said.
At Bella's restaurant in Cape St. Claire, about two dozen customers sipped beer by candlelight. The power had been knocked out in the community shopping center, and employees of other establishments waited out the storm.
But Bella's owner, Bonnie Morgan, forged ahead. "People don't have any lights on at home, so they come here to have a beer. We'll keep it going till it gets dark out," said Morgan, 67.
In Howard County, police reported numerous downed trees, including one that fell across three lanes of U.S. 29 near Old Columbia Road. Another tree hit an unoccupied car at Old Montgomery Road. Howard County Community College was evacuated after reports of a tornado sighting.
brent.jones@baltsun.com
Sun reporters John-John Williams IV, Candus Thompson, Tim Wheeler, Nicole Fuller, Justin Fenton, Chris Guy, Richard Irwin, Andrea Walker, Gadi Dechter, Melissa Harris, Steven Stanek, Karen Shih and Jasmine Jernberg and the Associated Press contributed to this article.
