La Plata Tornado - April 28, 2002

Due to the very large number of pictures in this report, virtually all were reduced to "thumbnail" size to reduce load time.  To view any of these full size images, place your mouse on the image and double-click.
More images can be seen on our Public Pictures page.  the Webmaster.

Nasa Satellite Picture taken showing the damage path cutting through La Plata, Maryland. Damage path appears as a brown streak from left to right across the center of the picture.

        This web page comprises pictures taken by or given to NWS Baltimore-Washington Forecast Office. Initial NWS storm survey was conducted by Barbara Watson, Warning Coordination Meteorologist, and Jim Travers, Meteorologist-in-Charge of the NWS Baltimore-Washington Forecast Office. Additional damage survey information and refinement came from the NWS Assessment Team and other federal teams with structural and wind engineers that later visited La Plata.  The descriptions and survey results written below are from Barbara Watson with the NWS Baltimore-Washington Office.  Results are only as final as the moment.  Additional information, research and facts often come forward for a long time after a survey such as this and adjustments are sometimes made based on that new understanding.  This was a long track tornado and a devastating tornado by East Coast standards.  There is still much to learn.

If you witnesses or experienced this tornado and would like to tell us about it...or you are in the Chesapeake Bay Region on Eastern Shore and find debris from La Plata, we are interested in hearing from you. Send an e-mail to barbara.watson@noaa.gov

Quick jump to hail pictures ; Charles County damage; Calvert County damage; or jump ahead to tornado pictures over the bay.

Charles County

The storm rapidly changed its character as it crossed the Potomac River. A distinctive "hook" appeared on the radar. The tornado touched down about a mile east of Mattawoman Creek and two miles east of the Potomac River. The Potomac River is tidal and rather wide along the Charles County shore. This is not the first time we have seen storms develop tornadoes as they cross a river or bay front, but more research is needed on this before we can understand any correlation.

The tornado moved southeast crossing Spring Road about a half a mile north of Pisgah. It was only a F1 (estimated maximum winds 75 to 112 mph). Its width was about 200 yds. It hit a community along Ripley road, just southwest of Ripley and tore the entire roof off a home, F2 (estimated max winds over 113 mph).

Photo from Tim Marshall

Continuing southeast, it is still generally F1 in strength until it nears Rose Hill road. Here the tornado appears to begin its ramp up, now an F2, based on the beginning of extensive tree damage and then damage to homes. At Valley Road, about a mile and a half west of La Plata, some F3 damage is seen (estimated maximum winds are peaking at over 158 mph). The width of the tornado is also increasing, now about 330 yards wide.

Photo from Tim Marshall

Between Valley Road and Morgans Ridge, trees are being flattened (F2 damage).

Photos submitted to Charles County Government by Warren Robinette. Photographer unknown. Tornado path (highlighted by brown streak and speckling of blue tarp roofs) moves from lower left (damage to homes along Morgans Ridge) to upper right (downtown La Plata).

At Morgans Ridge and Quail Lane, several homes are destroyed. The first two were clearly "sliders", more turn out to have similar construction failures. Some homes were not anchored or had minimal anchoring to their foundations, walls to floors, roof to walls, etc. Some literally slid off the foundation when the tornado wind struck.

House on Morgans Ridge slid north. Picture by Barbara Watson, NOAA/NWS

Picture of house on West Quail Lane by Barbara Watson, NWS/NOAA

Photos submitted to Charles County Government by Warren Robinette. Photographer unknown. Picture shows a destroyed house on Quailwood.

The sliders could have been F1 to F2 damage. A couple houses, one on Quail Court and the one above on Quailwood, showed F3 damage. East of Quailwood, the tornado destroyed part of the Archbishop Neale, a private school.  Considering the amount of damage to the classrooms of this school, it is very fortunate that the tornado struck on a Sunday night when school was not in session.  The heavy cement slabs that formed the roof lifted and fell into the classrooms, windows broke in and in some places the walls were torn away as well.

Photos submitted to Charles County Government by Warren Robinette. Photographer unknown. Picture shows damage to Archbishop Neale School..

Photos submitted to Charles County Government by Warren Robinette. Photographer unknown. Picture shows the intersection of U.S. Route 301 (right to left) and Route 6 (top left to bottom right). Quailwood is at the top of the picture with Archbishop Neale below it. Then the shopping center with the CVS and Kentucky Fried Chicken. The United Methodist Church is heavily damaged to the left of this.

Picture of the United Methodist Church by Dawn Glencer.	Truck sand blasted by tornado winds and debris. Photo by Dawn Glencer.
Picture of what remains of the CVS (F3 damage) by Dawn Glencer.	What remains of the KFC near the CVS. Picture taken by Dawn Glencer.

South of the main tornado path through Morgans Ridge and Quailwood was some additional tree and roof damage. Some have asked was there more than one tornado?  It is believed that this was wind damage caused by a strong rear-flank downburst from the same parent thunderstorm that was producing the tornado. The tornado strengthened and widened further as it moved into and through downtown La Plata. This intensification may have been aided by the rear-flank downburst. Streaks of damage observed through town was indicative of F3 and F4 damage on the Fujita Damage Scale.  These streaks and eyewitness accounts lead us to believe that this was a multi-vortex tornado (more than one funnel circulating around the parent tornado circulation).  Through downtown La Plata, the width of the damage (F1) extends out almost a half-mile (approximately 650 yards across).  Some pictures from this section of La Plata can be viewed below.  It must also be stated that the tornado was moving at an unusually fast speed of 50 knots (according to radar estimates) which is equal to 58 mph. That is nearly a mile a minute. Therefore, the damage you see happened in just a few seconds. This also means that the wind that caused the damage was not a sustained wind (1-minute average). Hurricanes, for instance, are rated according to the maximum "sustained wind" in the storm.  On the other hand, tornadoes are rated based on the maximum instantaneous wind or "peak wind" as estimated by the damage using the Fujita Damage Scale.  Tremendous accelerations and variations in the winds are occurring as the tornado moves along and encounters different objects.  Add these variations to variations in terrain, exposure and construction and you can get very large gradients and variations in damage observed.  Rating the damage is very difficult and at times, somewhat subjective with so many things to consider.

Picture by Dawn Glencer of what is left of the intersection of Route 301 and Route 6.

In the picture above, the tornado was moving diagonally from left to the right. The CVS and KFC are off to the left out of this picture and the Methodist Church is off to the right out of this picture. You are looking along Route 6. Across the intersection and just a little up the hill  is a small market that is destroyed (picture below). Cars were thrown and turned over, others hit with debris. Many people were injured, but it would have even been much worse, had this area been hit during a weekday afternoon instead of a Sunday night.

Picture taken by Barbara Watson, NOAA/NWS on Tuesday afternoon, April 30th.

The above picture is of Posies Market on Route 6 near County Government Building. Clean-up has occurred near the front of the picture, but not to the market itself. Only a few walls remain to this steel and block structure. This is believed to be at least F3 damage. Debris likely blew in windows and door on the northside which helped to compromise the structure.

Picture taken by Barbara Watson, NOAA/NWS on Tuesday afternoon, April 30th.

The water tower, full of water, came down. This may have occurred from F1 winds.

Photos submitted to Charles County Government by Warren Robinette. Photographer unknown.

This is the lumber yard building (above picture) on Saint Marys Avenue.  Clean up has already occurred in the parking area (left). This was a brick and steel structure with a large spanding roof.  Damage here is believed to be F3.  Damage intensifies to F4 east of here. A great deal of debris is piled over the next block and up against the back side of buildings along Lagrange Avenue. A one-story brick building (orthodontist Office) is gone. The upper story on another brick office building nearby is gone.  Trees have been broken to pieces or stripped. This next section was a streak of  F4 damage with F2 and F3 off to the sides.

Picture of Orthodontist Office taken by Barbara Watson, NOAA/NWS on Tuesday afternoon, April 30th.

Photos submitted to Charles County Government by Warren Robinette. Photographer unknown. Lumber yard is on left edge of picture. Orthodontist Office was on next street to the left. Further left prior to railroad tracks, two additional houses and garages are gone. This is the F4 damage streak.

Picture taken by Barbara Watson, NOAA/NWS on Tuesday afternoon, April 30th. Picture shows heavy missile damage and wind to building on northside of F4 damage streak across Lagrange Avenue.

Just west of the railroad tracks is the Maple avenue. Two houses and two separate garages once stood between Maple and Lagrange Avenues (just south of Port Tobacco Road, Rte. 6). There is little to nothing left of the two two-story houses nor the garages.

Picture taken by Barbara Watson, NOAA/NWS on Tuesday afternoon, April 30th.

Picture taken by Barbara Watson, NOAA/NWS on Tuesday afternoon, April 30th.

You might consider these walls in the above picture as standing. They are somewhat propped up by heavy stuff inside. Two brothers took refuge there. There father was trapped under the pile of bricks from the chimney collapse.  He believes that the bricks saved him from being hit by missile or being swept away be the tornado. He said the whole thing was over in just a couple seconds. The family had seen the tornado coming and the flying debris and had run inside the house when it hit.

Here is a couple more aerial views of the F4 damage through the heart of La Plata.

Photos submitted to Charles County Government by Warren Robinette. Photographer unknown. The tornado was moving from left to the lower right of the picture. Lagrange Avenue goes from the lower left corner up to Route 6 near the top of the picture. The heavy F4 damage streak enters the left of the picture and moves right to the railroad tracks.

Photos submitted to Charles County Government by Warren Robinette. Photographer unknown.  Picture is taken from above Route 301 looking east. Route 6  moves up the left center of the picture. The tornado path moves up the center and to the right center of the picture.

Two destroyed homes are shown in this picture looking north across the path. The first house shown below had a block and brick foundation. It appeared that not all the straps were used connecting the foundation and the house.  Seven people were inside this house ranging in ages from 16 months to adult. All seven people survived (3 were in the basement, 2 were on the first floor headed to basement, and 2 were on the second floor). The debris of the house is deposited slightly to the northeast of the main tornado path.  The trees in the background are to the north of the tornado path. A second house is also flattened in the background. A closer picture of this house is the second picture below with the white car. The first floor remains attached to the foundation but the rest of the house is gone. This house had a poured reinforced concrete basement.
 
Picture above taken by Ed Pace, N3HJA, Skywarn volunteer for NWS and Amateur Radio Operator.

Picture above taken by Ed Pace, N3HJA, Skywarn volunteer for NWS and Amateur Radio Operator.

Picture above taken by Barbara Watson, NOAA/NWS. This house appears to be well built and is on the northside of the damage streak.

Picture above taken by Ed Pace, N3HJA, Skywarn volunteer for NWS and Amateur Radio Operator.

The house above was at the end of Normande Woods Drive. It also had a block and brick foundation and no basement. Little of anything remains except the two cars which were in the garage which was slightly below ground level. The two cars were somewhat protected by the block and brick foundation wall and the slope of the terrain down to this house and this wall.  The house was carried downwind and slightly left. Two people were in this house and pulled out of the debris with injuries. Tree damage behind this area is extensive. Damage in this area just east of Route 6 is believed to be F3 in strength.  This is largely due to the total disintegration to the houses.

Picture above taken by Ed Pace, N3HJA, Skywarn volunteer for NWS and Amateur Radio Operator.

The tornado continues across Horseshoe Drive and through heavily wooded area including the Kerrick Swamp. The terrain here is rolling.

Photos submitted to Charles County Government by Warren Robinette. Photographer unknown. Tornado streak moves from lower center of picture toward upper right corner. On the bottom edge of the picture is the house destroyed in the picture above this one. About an inch from the top of the picture, the tornado path crosses the Hawkins Gate Road community where several more houses are destroyed.

Photos submitted to Charles County Government by Warren Robinette. Photographer unknown. Photo shows damage to heavily wooded area as well as a classic convergent and cyclonic pattern to how the trees fell.

As it begins to move up the rise to Hawkins Gate Road homes, it hits a newly constructed house (not quite to settlement yet) where the future owners were visiting what would be their home (picture below). The house was destroyed and sadly the husband was killed. The tornado may have been a high F2 here.

Picture above taken by Ed Pace, N3HJA, Skywarn volunteer for NWS and Amateur Radio Operator.

The tornado moved up the hill to Hawkins Gate Road. Here, several homes were destroyed.

Photos submitted to Charles County Government by Warren Robinette. Photographer unknown. View looking down on the end of Hawkins Gate Road.

In the picture above, there appeared to be two vortex paths that spare the house on the lower left. One path moves through the tree just north of the house. The other hits the house on the lower center edge of the picture (another picture of this house is below). The houses across the street on the east side of Hawkins Gate Road do not fair well. The one with the blue tarp is leveled to the first floor boards over the basement. Their mini-van is in the debris down the hill. The house above (north) of this one is totally gone down to the foundation. Note that the garage is not attached and therefore did not contribute to the failure of this home. The ground to the right of these homes greatly drops off and much of the homes is deposited in the ravine, but other parts may have been carried as far away as the Eastern Shore of Maryland.

The house shown below is on the bottom center edge of picture above. This new house was just settled a couple days before the tornado. A second floor is gone. Before being hit by a tornado, this house looked similar to the homes that were demolished on the east side of Hawkins Gate Road.

Picture above taken by Ed Pace, N3HJA, Skywarn volunteer for NWS and Amateur Radio Operator.

Picture above taken by Ed Pace, N3HJA, Skywarn volunteer for NWS and Amateur Radio Operator.

Picture above shows a house blown away down to the first floor boards which are still attached to the basement. It is a poured-reinforced concrete foundation. One car (pickup truck)  is down the bank south of the house and a van is down the hill (east) in the debris. Another with station wagon type car can be seen on the bank in the background where winds were not as strong. Most of the house is in the ravine to the left (east) in pieces. Had this area been flat, much of  the house remains may have been carried away from the site.  The house to the north of this one was of similar construction in a fairly new neighborhood and the damage was more extensive.  See below.

Picture above taken by Ed Pace, N3HJA, Skywarn volunteer for NWS and Amateur Radio Operator.

Above you see all that remained of this home. It is nearly swept clean. The back basement wall failure was aided by the walkout doorway. The tornado approached from the other side where the foundation is mostly below ground (see picture below). The terrain slopes away to the back (east) of the house, but even a little of the southside of the back wall was below ground. Basement wall on the northside is cracked from top to bottom. Some bottom wall boards remain attached to the foundation in a couple locations. The steel eye-beams are pulled off.  The house is in relatively small pieces in the ravine to the northeast and would likely be gone if not for the steep slope. Pieces of the house are likely spread across the remote Zekiah Swamp to the east and possibly even some of the debris found on the Eastern Shore.  Trees behind the house are chopped, stripped, or uprooted.  One on the northside of the house was debarked. A metal laundry pole lodged in the ground with spikes was pulled out and is gone.  There are missiles in some areas sticking out of the ground.

Picture above taken by Ed Pace, N3HJA, Skywarn volunteer for NWS and Amateur Radio Operator. Upper right picture and two lower pictures above taken by Barbara Watson, NOAA/NWS.  Upper left picture taken by Ed Pace, N3HJA, Skywarn volunteer for NWS and Amateur Radio Operator.

This damage was rated high F3 possibly F4. While it appears that it may be indicative of F5, further review took into consideration the house's exposure, orientation, and construction.

The path width at this location has narrowed to about 400 yards.  From here the path hits rural area.

Photos submitted to Charles County Government by Warren Robinette. Photographer unknown. Powerplant on the Patuxent River can be seen in the distant haze in this picture. The Patuxent River is the border between Charles County and Calvert County. The tornado will cross this county and the next.

Photos submitted to Charles County Government by Warren Robinette. Photographer unknown. This picture is of  Jameson Manor near Hughesville in eastern Charles County.

Photos submitted to Charles County Government by Warren Robinette. Photographer unknown. Numerous barns were destroyed and rural homes damaged.

Photos submitted to Charles County Government by Warren Robinette. Photographer unknown.

The tornado cut through Benedict, a town on the western shore of the Patuxent River. Homes were damaged and one home was destroyed. The tornado crossed into Calvert County just south of the Route 231 bridge.

The tornado entered Calvert County south of the Patuxent River Bridge (Route 231) at approximately 7:28 pm EDT.  Tornado had already been on the ground for 30 miles and while it was weakening, it was still strong enough to destroy several homes and kill two people in Calvert County.  The tornado damage in Calvert County has been rated F2 on the Fujita Damage Scale. The damage across the county ranged from F1 to F2. An F2 rating suggests estimated peak wind speeds at 113 - 157 mph while an F1 estimates peak winds at 75 - 112 mph. The tornado moved off the eastern shore at approximately 7:45 pm and continued across the Chesapeake Bay into Dorchester County. (Map shown on left was produced by Calvert County Emergency Management)

First home destroyed by tornado as it enters Calvert County.  Additional homes had roof and siding damage. This house had a large opening (sliding glass doors) facing the direction that the tornado was coming from. It is believed that debris came through the door and the additional outward pressure was enough to remove the roof and back wall of the house.  The occupants had safely taken cover in an interior bathroom.  Pictures taken by Ed Pace, N3HJA, Skywarn volunteer for NWS and Amateur Radio Operator. House where fatalities occurred. House was on blocks...no foundation. Tornado lifted house and dropped it into a ravine where it disintegrated. Pictures taken by Ed Pace, N3HJA, Skywarn volunteer for NWS and Amateur Radio Operator.

What is left of house in Ravine.

Plot where house once stood.

 Pictures taken by Calvert County Emergency Management. Storm Survey Assessment by Barbara Watson.

Tornado direction was from behind house moving out of picture to the right. House is missing roof and front brick facing.	Side view of the same house in picture to the left. In the foreground is downed trees and debris from a demolished barn or outbuilding.
Demolished garage.  Path left to right across picture.  Note: all 4 pictures taken in same general area.	House missing roof and back wall. Structure failed by wind entering garage and perhaps large windows in front. Back brick wall showed little attachment to interior walls.

Exiting off the eastern shore of Calvert County and heading out into the Chesapeake Bay.

Pictures taken by Calvert County Emergency Management. Storm Survey Assessment by Barbara Watson.

The above picture is looking south along Calvert County's shore line with the Chesapeake Bay to the left. A swath of trees was mowed down.

Picture from Calvert County Emergency Management.

Tree parts thrown into the Chesapeake Bay by the tornado.  In some areas of Calvert County whole trees were pulled out of the ground and thrown.

Tornado seen moving east across the Chesapeake Bay from Calvert County's eastern shore. Tornado was a F1/F2 at this point and had already traveled 38 miles. Pictures taken by Charlie Boyer at Calvert Cliffs Plant.  Copyrights may ably and permission must be asked before reuse.

	First tornado (left) plus a second  tornado or waterspout (right).