2002 La Plata tornado
 A surface analysis 3 hours (21:00 UTC) before the tornado passed through Maryland. | |
| Meteorological history | |
|---|---|
| Formed | April 28, 2002, 6:56 p.m. EDT (UTC−04:00) |
| Dissipated | April 28, 2002, 8:26 p.m. EDT (UTC−04:00) |
| Duration | 1 hour and 30 minutes |
| F4 tornado | |
| on the Fujita scale | |
| Overall effects | |
| Fatalities | 3 (+2 indirect)[1][2] |
| Injuries | 122 |
| Damage | $115 million (2002 USD) [1] |
| Areas affected | Charles County, Calvert County, Dorchester County, and Wicomico County |
Part of the tornado outbreak of April 27–28, 2002 and Tornadoes of 2002 | |
The 2002 La Plata tornado (/ləˈpleɪtə/ lə-PLAY-tə)[3] was an extremely powerful and fast-moving multi-vortex tornado that devastated the town of La Plata, Maryland,[4] killing 3 people and injuring 122 others.[5][6] It was the costliest tornado of the tornado outbreak of April 27–28, 2002, causing at least $115 million in damages.[7] It's also one of the worst storms to hit the greater Baltimore-Washington D.C. area.[1]
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.[8]
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.[9][10] It's also the most recent violent tornado to strike the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast regions.
Meteorological synopsis
[edit]
Bottom: Velocity radar recap of the supercell.
On the afternoon of April 28th, a supercell developed in central West Virginia and traveled across the Appalachian Mountains.[1] 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.[1]
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.[11]
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.[8]
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.[10] 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.[10] 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.[10] This tornado also had an incredibly fast average forward speed of 52 mph (84 km/h), making it one of the fastest violent tornadoes on record.
Impact
[edit]
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 sustaining heavy damage or complete destruction.[12] 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.[11]
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 was pulled out of the ground.[13] Entire utility poles were also snapped and thrown. Along Saint Marys Avenue, the brick and steel lumber yard building was demolished. "Heavy F4 damage" occurred just east of this.[8] 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 (58 mph (93 km/h), causing its destruction in a matter of seconds.[1] After leaving downtown La Plata, it caused extensively tree damage before striking the Clark Run subdivision where 3 more home 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 their under-construction home on Hawkins Gate Road was flattened by the tornado. Another house was rated high-end F3 or F4 after it was swept clean of its foundation.[8]
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 Route 5. Just west of Benedict on Route 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.[8][10]
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 80 feet into a culvert killing an elderly couple. Several other homes also lost their walls of roof in western Calvert. 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.[8][10]
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 was 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 60 miles away.[8][11]
Preliminary F5 rating
[edit]
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 were 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.[9]
Many of the "slider homes" swept of their foundation were rated F1 to F3, with surveyors having to rely solely on the severity of the surrounding damage to determine ratings.[10] 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 the how tornadoes are surveyed today.[11]
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, its exceptional duration and long path is 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.[11][14]
Aftermath
[edit]
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.[11] 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.[11]
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.[15] A memorial garden has been established in La Plata, featuring benches that commemorate the victims of both the 1926 and 2002 tornadoes.[16][17] This event is also largely responsible for the modern use of the Enhanced Fujita scale.
See also
[edit]
- 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
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f US Department of Commerce, NOAA. "La Plata Tornado - April 28, 2002". www.weather.gov. Retrieved 2021-05-11.
- ^ "Killer La Plata tornado hit 19 years ago". wusa9.com. 28 April 2020. Retrieved 2021-05-11.
- ^ Pronounced unlike the river in Argentina
- ^ "EF 5 tornado hits la Plata, Maryland on April 28, 2002". YouTube.
- ^ "20 years ago today: 5 killed in la Plata tornado, millions of dollars worth of damage". YouTube.
- ^ "Your Charles County - the Evening that Changed la Plata". YouTube.
- ^ Puzzilla, Anthony G. (2 April 2022). Hope Triumphs over Chaos: The la Plata Tornado of April 28, 2002. Anthony Puzzilla. ISBN 978-1734550443.
- ^ a b c d e f g US Department of Commerce, NOAA. "La Plata Tornado - April 28, 2002". www.weather.gov. Retrieved 2022-04-15.
- ^ a b "2002 La Plata damage survey" (PDF).
- ^ a b c d e f g Wilkes, Jen Narramore-Nick (25 April 2020). "La Plata, MD F4 Tornado – April 28, 2002 – Tornado Talk". Retrieved 2022-04-15.
- ^ a b c d e f g "La Plata" (PDF).
- ^ "La Plata, MD Natural Disasters and Weather Extremes - USA.com". www.usa.com. Retrieved 2022-04-15.
- ^ WTOP News - "20 years after deadly tornado, La Plata set to commemorate tragedy, recovery"
- ^ 20 years after deadly tornado, La Plata set to commemorate tragedy, recovery, WTOP News, April 28, 2010
- ^ "Welcome to the Town of La Plata". townoflaplata.org. Retrieved 2022-04-15.
- ^ "Historical website".
- ^ "La Plata, Maryland town page".