F1 tornado, Waldorf to Brandywine, Maryland, May 25, 2001

1. F040 to 72 mph

   Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.

2. F173 to 112 mphthis tornado

   Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.

3. F2113 to 157 mph

   Considerable damage. Roofs torn off well-built houses, frame homes shifted on their foundations, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, cars lifted off the ground.

4. F3158 to 206 mph

   Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.

5. F4207 to 260 mph

   Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.

6. F5261 to 318 mph

   Incredible damage. Strong frame houses swept off their foundations, car-sized missiles thrown more than 100 meters, steel-reinforced concrete badly damaged, high-rise buildings deformed.

7. Unrated

   The survey recorded a tornado but could not put a number on it, most often because it crossed open country and damaged nothing a rating can be read from.

Rating

F1

Date

May 25, 2001

Touchdown

4:19 PM EDT (20:19 UTC)

Path length

3.5 miles (5.6 km)

Path width

100 yards (91 m)

Deaths

0

Injuries

0

Property damage

$530,000

Counties

Charles and Prince George's counties

Touchdown point

38.630, -76.970

Lift-off point

38.670, -76.880

Record number

811

Thunderstorms that produced winds in excess of 55 MPH, a tornado, hail, and heavy downpours moved across Southern Maryland during the afternoon of the 25th. In Charles County, a tornado touched down on Panda Court in the Hampshire Lake subdivision about 2.5 miles west of downtown Waldorf. The tornado tracked northeast across the subdivisions of McDaniel Country Estates, Ashford Oaks, Streamview, and across Route 228 (Berry Road) before crossing into Prince George's County near Acton Lane. The tornado was 100 yards wide and was ranked an F1. Over 100 homes received minor damage to siding and roofs, with the most concentrated area of damage in the Streamview neighborhood. The worst damage included trees putting significant holes into homes, damaged cars, broken windows, a damaged deck, and a downed chimney. In addition, a shed, tractor, and air conditioning unit were blown over. The survey team estimated over 100 trees and several power lines were downed in the path of the storm. As the tornado crossed Route 228 it picked up a truck, spun it around and flipped it over onto the side of the road. Just north of Route 228, the tornado destroyed three barns at a sod farm. When the twister reached Acton Lane, it downed several trees and power lines. About an hour before the tornado touched down near Waldorf, another thunderstorm produced a funnel cloud that apparently never reached the ground just northeast of Indian Head. Pea sized hail was reported in Bryans Road. In Prince George's County, the Green Acre Farms area about 4 miles southwest of Brandywine was hit by the same tornado that damaged several homes just west of Waldorf. The tornado crossed Mattawoman Creek at the county line near Acton Lane, then pushed northeast across the Green Acre Farms subdivision and Gardner Road. Several trees were downed in the path of the twister. Two homes in Green Acre Farms were damaged. One of the homes on Gardner Road suffered water damage after a tree pushed in a basement door which allowed water runoff to flood the basement. Another homeowner on Mattawoman Lane had a vehicle significantly damaged by a downed tree. A nearby shed was picked up off its foundation and thrown 40 feet. The path of the tornado was clearly visible as a tree top "V" pattern in the woodlands behind the home. A nearby barn was also damaged. Six occupants in 5 cars on nearby roadways had to be rescued after downed trees and power lines made the roads impassable. The tornado dissipated in the woods just northeast of Gardner Road before reaching Robin Dale Country Club. The storm that produced the tornado continued to move northeast across the county. A funnel cloud was spotted in Brandywine, Camp Springs, and Bowie as the storm passed through. A wind gust of 63 MPH was recorded at Andrews Air Force Base. Heavy rain flooded the intersection of Branch Avenue and Brinkley Avenue and roads in Bladensburg. In Anne Arundel County, a total of 2.04 inches of rain fell in Annapolis. In St. Mary's County, 1.92 inches of rain was reported in Oraville.

A tornado formed just west of Waldorf and moved northeast into Prince George's County.

A tornado crossed over the Charles County line and dissipated just southwest of Brandywine.

From NOAA NCEI's Storm Events Database, the narrative the local forecast office wrote for Storm Data.

No tornado warning for this county appears in the archive as in force at the moment the tornado touched down. One was issued for the county at another hour that day.

Every warning and watch covering the touchdown point that day, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service products. Lead time is measured from the issue of the warning in force to the touchdown time in the database, both of which were recorded to the minute by different people.

The Storm Prediction Center had this point in a Slight Risk. The outlook in force was issued at 19:58 UTC.

SPC's Day 1 convective outlook as it stood when the tornado began, read at the touchdown point. The same archive is on the radar archive.

The radiosonde launches on either side of the tornado, from the nearest station that was launching then, drawn and analyzed the way Storm Lab does: the same diagram, the same parcel and shear definitions SPC's mesoanalysis uses.

The Sterling radar (KLWX), 61 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 20:19 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment, over the track

Reflectivity and velocity, decoded from the Level II archive in the browser. Volumes take a few seconds to open the first time.

The live radar over the trackEvery 2001 tornado in MarylandEvery tornado in Maryland since 1950Warnings in force in Maryland nowThe forecast where you are

3 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

Ratings are the survey's, read off the damage rather than measured; the rating scale is above. Tornado counts rise through the record as reporting improved, so a year in the 1950s is not comparable with one today except for the strongest tornadoes, which were always noticed.

NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025, the official record kept by NOAA's Storm Prediction Center.