F4 La Plata tornado, Maryland, April 28, 2002

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 mph

   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 mphthis tornado

   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

F4

Date

April 28, 2002

Touchdown

6:56 PM EDT (22:56 UTC)

Path length

38.0 miles (61.1 km)

Path width

650 yards (594 m)

Deaths

3

Injuries

122

Property damage

$124 million

Counties

Charles and Calvert counties

Touchdown point

38.550, -77.180

Lift-off point

38.480, -76.500

Record number

582

A massive tornadic storm tore through Central Charles and Calvert Counties between 7 and 8 PM EDT on the 28th. The tornadoes it produced left a 64 mile path of destruction ranging from F1 to F4 damage. Five people were killed, 122 were injured, and over $115 million in damage was reported. The tornadoes were spawned from a supercell thunderstorm that crossed the Potomac River from Prince William County. Up to 10 miles north of the path of the tornado, large hail up to 4.5 inches in diameter fell. Debris from the tornado was found as far away as southern Delaware. Wind damage was also reported near the path of the storm.Across Charles County, 638 homes were damaged, 100 homes were destroyed, 143 businesses (mainly in downtown La Plata) were damaged, and 49 businesses were destroyed. Countless trees and agricultural buildings were downed along the rural path of the storm. Three people were killed and at least 120 people were injured countywide, 12 critically. A 51-year-old man was killed and his wife was critically injured when their house under construction on Hawkins Gate Road, about 5 miles east of La Plata, collapsed. A 54-year-old man died in his car from an apparent heart attack at the intersection of Route 301 and Route 6 in downtown La Plata. The third victim, a 72-year-old woman, died of a heart attack in Waldorf after being frightened by the tornado. The tornado first touched down on the eastern edge of General Smallwood State Park just north of Rison. It pushed east-southeast and passed just south of Pisgah where it grew to F2 strength. The tornado moved through Mount Pisgah and damaged homes on Ripley Road between Ripley and Garden Estates. The twister continued to move east through rural lands south of Hawthorne Road (Route 255) passing just north of the community of Graystone. Next, it moved through the communities of Habre de Venture, Longmeade, Clamber Hill, Hawthorne Manor, and Hillendale about 3 miles west of downtown La Plata. The tornado, now F3 strength, hit the western portion of La Plata next, moving directly through the neighborhoods of Valley View, Morgan's Ridge, Quailwood, and Haldane. The tornado, now F4 strength, continued east into the downtown area where it crossed through the intersection of Route 301 and 6. Damage was found on either side of Route 6 with the most severe devastation occurring on the south side of the highway. The downtown business district was nearly wiped out after 65% of the buildings were either heavily damaged or destroyed. The 125-foot city water tower was also downed. The tornado continued its trek southeast of the downtown hospital into the northern portion of Clarks Run, across Route 6, and into the community of Ellenwood. The F4 tornado moved east of La Plata into the southern portion of Brynwood Farm Estates, then east across the Zekiah Swamp. Several homes at the end of Hawkins Gate Road were completely destroyed, and this was the location of one fatality and numerous injuries. Next, the tornado crossed Olivers Shop Road just north of the intersection of Route 231. It continued east through rural lands until it intersected Route 5 at Homeland Drive just south of Hughesville. East of Homeland Drive, it severely damaged the Girl Scout facility off Scout Camp Road. The tornado tracked east-southeast toward Benedict, remaining just south of Route 231 and weakening to F2 strength. It struck Colonial Lane and a home south of Benedict before crossing the river into Calvert County just south of the bridge. In Calvert County, the tornado first struck the community of Patuxent View just south of Route 231 at F2 strength. Over half of the homes in this development were damaged. One home with no foundation or anchoring just east of Patuxent View off Hallowing Point Road was picked up and thrown 80 feet into a culvert. A 68-year-old man and his 65-year-old wife who were taking shelter in the house were killed. The twister continued eastward along Sixes Road to the intersection of Adelina Road. Several homes and barns were damaged. From there it pushed east through the communities of Boyds Farm, Mutual Estates, and Chippingwood, where it damaged more property. It crossed Route 2/4 and 765 just north of St. Leonard, downing trees and it went. Finally, it crossed the Western Shores Estates development at F1 strength before it moved offshore. Another tornado formed on the Long Beach shoreline just north of Calvert Cliffs Power Plant. It downed trees before moving offshore. This tornado grew in strength as it crossed the bay and struck Dorchester County on the eastern shore just south of Taylor's Island. Across the county, 125 homes were damaged and 10 were destroyed, mainly in the Brownsville and Hallowing Point areas. County officials collected over 300 tons of downed trees and storm debris.

A destructive tornado crossed the county from just north of Rison, through La Plata, to Benedict before moving into Calvert County.

The deaths

1 direct deaths are recorded for this tornado, each with what Storm Data knows of it.

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 Moderate Risk, with a 0.05 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 20:04 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 live radar over the trackEvery 2002 tornado in MarylandEvery tornado in Maryland since 1950Warnings in force in Maryland nowThe forecast where you are

37 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.