2002 La Plata Tornado

The 2002 La Plata tornado ( ) was an extremely powerful and fast-moving multi-vortex tornado that devastated the town of La Plata, Maryland, killing 3 people and injuring 122 others. It was the costliest tornado of the tornado outbreak of April 27–28, 2002, causing at least $115 million in damages. It's also one of the worst storms to hit the greater Baltimore-Washington D.C. area.

At approximately 6:56 pm ( EST), the tornado touched down south of Marbury in western Charles County, Maryland. It struck La Plata shortly after and killed one person when their house was swept away. After entering Calvert County, two more people died when their home was picked up and thrown. It then continued into the Chesapeake Bay, barely missing the Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant to its south. After crossing the bay, the tornado moved into Dorchester County, strengthening to F3 intensity before dissipating west of Salisbury, Maryland.

The tornado had one of the fastest-anticipated forward speeds on record for a violent tornado. Only six other F4-rated tornadoes have occurred farther north and east, with none of them traveling as far. It's also the most recent violent tornado to strike the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast regions.

Meteorological synopsis

On the afternoon of April 28th, a supercell developed in central West Virginia and traveled across the Appalachian Mountains. The system then became tornadic near Quicksburg, Virginia. Several tornado warnings were issued for both Rockingham and Shenandoah county. A tornado then passed near Mount Jackson, Virginia where F2 damage occurred.

Between 6:10 and 6:20 pm ( EST), a forecaster called the Charles County "9-1-1 Operations Center" noting a tornadic thunderstorm heading their way. As the supercell neared the Potomac, radar indicated weakening and the disappearance of a hook echo occurred. With no confirmation of a tornado and signs that the toradic potential was waning, forecasters issued a severe thunderstorm warning for Charles and Calvert Counties at 6:45 pm. Within this warning, a call-to-action statement mentioned the possibility of tornadoes.

At 6:56 pm, the tornado touched down near Marbury. It then struck the community of Ripley shortly after, where F2 damage occurred. Around this time, a forecaster attempted to contact Charles County officials in La Plata about the detection of the tornado on radar, but it took several tries since phone lines were clogged with damage reports from Ripley and other communities struck. Roughly 6 minutes after touchdown, tornado warnings were issued for both Charles and Calvert Counties.

When the warnings were issued, the EAS activation process encountered issues, with 53 percent of radio stations in the La Plata listening area facing outages or other problems. Around this same time, damage and eyewitness accounts also indicated a second tornado forming one-quarter of a mile south of the primary one. Between 7:02 and 7:07 pm, both tornadoes tore through the heart of La Plata with little warning, devastating the town. As the primary tornado continued eastward through the rest of Charles County, the secondary tornado dissipated after reaching peak F2 intensity.

After striking the town of Benedict, the twister crossed the Patuxent and entered Calvert County at approximately 7:28 pm. Although weakening, widespread F1 to F2 damage still occurred. It then moved offshore into the Chesapeake Bay around 7:45 pm, narrowly missing the Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant to its south. While crossing the Chesapeake, a second satellite tornado joined it for most of its journey.

After crossing the entire Bay, the tornado entered Dorchester County shortly before 8:00 pm. It then intensified back to F3 strength before dissipating west of Salisbury, Maryland. Only two other tornadoes have reached F3/EF3 intensity along the Delmarva Peninsula. One in June of 1944, and another in April of 2023 respectively.

The La Plata tornado, lasting an unusual 1 hour and 30 minutes, producing a 78-mile trail of devastation through southeast Maryland. This makes it one of the longest lasting and farthest traveling tornadoes outside tornado alley. Since records began in 1950, only one other violent tornado has been documented in the state, occurring in 1998. This tornado also had an incredibly fast average forward speed of , making it one of the fastest violent tornadoes on record.

Impact

The tornado tore through Charles, Calvert, Dorchester and Wicomico Counties, leveling many trees and structures. In La Plata, structural damage was catastrophic. Approximately 65 percent of the downtown sustained heavy damage or complete destruction. In total, the tornado killed 5 people and injured some 122 others. It also inflicted $115 million in damage, making it the costliest Mid-Atlantic tornado on record.

After touching down, F1 damage was reported near Pisgah. F2 damage then occurred in Ripley, where homes were unroofed. F3 damage then occurred along Hill Spring Road, roughly 1.5 miles (2.4 km) west of La Plata. The tornado then struck Morgans Ridge Road, where several houses were swept clean off their foundation. Around this time, tornado warnings were issued.

F3 damage continued into West Quail Lane, where several homes were completely leveled. The tornado then entered La Plata and struck the Archbishop Neale School, where heavy cement slabs that formed the roof were picked up and dropped into classrooms. Several walls were also "torn away". As the tornado progressed into La Plata, it strengthened and expanded to a width of nearly half a mile (0.8 km). Swaths of F3 and F4 damage also began occurring throughout town. These swaths and eyewitness reports indicate that the tornado was multi-vortex. Along Route 6, vehicles were lifted and tossed, while the 125-foot city steel water tower was bent and toppled. At the Posies Market, only a few walls were left standing. East of the La Plata shopping center, where a CVS Pharmacy was destroyed, a KFC was leveled. Next to this, a historical town sign and its concrete foundation were pulled out of the ground. Entire Utility poles were also snapped and thrown. Along Saint Marys Avenue, the brick and steel lumber yard building were demolished. "Heavy F4 damage" occurred just east of this. A brand new brick orthodontist office was completely leveled after taking a direct hit. Two multi-story homes sustained F4 damage next to the railroad tracks where there "was was little to nothing left" of them and their garages.

While traversing through La Plata, the tornado was moving unusually fast at nearly a mile per minute (, causing its destruction in a matter of seconds. After leaving downtown La Plata, it caused extensive tree damage before striking the Clark Run subdivision, where 3 more homes were leveled. Within one of these leveled homes, seven people were inside and all miraculously managed to survive. Three individuals were in the basement, two were on the first floor, and the remaining two were on the second floor. Several other homes had their walls and roofs blown down around this area. A 51-year-old man was killed, and his wife was critically injured when the tornado flattened their under-construction home on Hawkins Gate Road. Another house was rated high-end F3 or F4 after it was swept clean of its foundation.

As the tornado continued eastward, numerous rural homes and barns were destroyed. F3 damage occurred along Dusty Miller and Pale Morning Road. F2 damage occurred when the tornado crossed MD 5. Just west of Benedict on MD 231, several homes sustained F3 damage. In total across Charles County, 638 homes were damaged while 100 others were completely destroyed. 143 business (mainly in downtown La Plata) were also damaged, with 49 others being destroyed.

As the tornado moved into Calvert County south of the Patuxent River Bridge, it struck a development of homes where over half of them were damaged. Several homes were also destroyed. Along Hallowing Point Road, a home with no anchoring or foundation was picked up and thrown into a culvert, killing an elderly couple. Several other homes also lost their walls and roofs in western Calvert County. The tornado then continued south of Prince Frederick before passing just north of the Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant, where several large trees were leveled. Tornado damage in Calvert was rated at F1 to F2 intensity. At least 125 homes were damaged, with another 10 being destroyed.

After crossing the Chesapeake Bay, the tornado struck Robinson Neck, where F1 damage occurred. It then continued southwestward before striking Hip Roof Road at F3 intensity, where several outbuildings and a home were destroyed. Shortly after, it crossed into Wicomico County, where several homes sustained F1 damage in Royal Oak. It then dissipated just south of Quantico, some miles west of Salisbury. Debris, such as canceled checks, bank and tax documents, and teller receipts from La Plata, was discovered in southern Delaware, over away.

Preliminary F5 rating

The La Plata tornado was initially rated F5, but was downgraded during a later damage survey. For a brief period of time, this made it the easternmost F5 tornado in the United States. This preliminary F5 rating, partly due to damage to a brick building in downtown La Plata, was lowered to F4 after the damage assessment team determined the destruction was enhanced by flying debris from the nearby lumber yard. Damage to houses initially rated F5 was lowered when engineer Timothy Marshall surveyed and determined these homes were not properly anchored, causing them to be swept off their foundations by lesser winds. While impressive, team members agreed that the tornado damage was not as intense as other F5-rated tornadoes such as 1990 Plainfield, 1991 Andover, 1997 Jarrell, or 1999 Bridge Creek-Moore.

Many of the "slider homes" swept off their foundation were rated F1 to F3, with surveyors having to rely solely on the severity of the surrounding damage to determine ratings. This includes the toppled steel water tower in La Plata, which "was impressive but occurred in an area of F1 damage". This event highlighted key limitations of the Fujita scale and is largely responsible for how tornadoes are surveyed today.

Owing to its exceptionally rapid forward speed of nearly a mile per minute (96.5 km/h) in downtown La Plata, the tornado had less time to dwell over structures and buildings. The damage would likely have been more severe with a more typical forward speed, a phenomenon also observed during the 2021 Western Kentucky tornado. While violent tornadoes are already extraordinarily rare within the Mid-Atlantic, their exceptional duration and long path are particularly remarkable for being so far outside the climatologically favored area. Despite this, this tornado is not the deadliest to strike La Plata. On November 9, 1926, another F4 tornado killed 13 school children and 4 townspeople, while injuring some 65 others.

Aftermath

In the wake of the tornado, Gov. Parris N. Glendening declared a state of emergency in Charles, Calvert and Dorchester Counties. Schools and offices were also closed. The Red Cross helped place several families in nearby hotels. Just two days later, over 90% of the debris in downtown La Plata was cleared from the roads, restoring traffic access to the area. Amid nationwide media coverage of the event, damage surveys were being done by the Federal Emergency Management Agency's, Building Performance Assessment Team, and Wind Engineering Research Council during the same time the NWS was conducting their survey.

Due to this event, the Town of La Plata installed multiple Whelen Engineering Company WPS-2900 Series tornado sirens in and around the community to enhance preparedness for future storms. A memorial garden has been established in La Plata, featuring benches that commemorate the victims of both the 1926 and 2002 tornadoes. This event is also largely responsible for the modern use of the Enhanced Fujita scale.

See also

* List of Maryland Tornadoes
* List of North American tornadoes
* List of F4 and EF4 tornadoes
* Tornado outbreak of June 2, 1998
* Tornado outbreak of September 24, 2001

References

External links

1926 La Plata Tornado

{{Maryland tornado events

Tornadoes in Maryland
Tornadoes of 2002
F4, EF4 and IF4 tornadoes