The 2002 La Plata tornado was an extremely powerful and fast moving multi-vortex F4 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 is also one of the strongest tornadoes ever 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. Just six minutes later, the tornado began crossing over La Plata, killing one person. At 7:30 pm, two more people died as the twister entered Calvert County. Next, it moved into the Chesapeake Bay just north of the Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant. After crossing the bay, the tornado moved across Dorchester County, again intensifying to F3 strength before dissipating west of Salisbury, Maryland. The tornado had one of the fastest-accepted forward speeds on record.
Meteorological synopsis
During that afternoon, a tornado formed from a supercell that developed in central West Virginia and moved across the Appalachian Mountains. The thunderstorm first became tornadic near Quicksburg, VA. Several tornado warnings were issued for Rockingham and Shenandoah counties, where an F2 tornado occurred. At 6:45 pm (EST), a severe thunderstorm warning was issued for northern Charles and Calvert Counties in which a call-to-action statement mentioned the possibility of tornadoes. Just 17 minutes later - at 7:02 pm, six minutes after the tornado touched down - tornado warnings were issued for both Charles and Calvert Counties.
When the warnings were issued, there was a problem with the EAS activation process: 53 percent of the radio stations broadcasting in the La Plata listening area experienced outages or other issues. Around the same time, eyewitness accounts indicated that a second tornado formed one-quarter mile south of the primary tornado. Between 7:02 and 7:07 p.m., both tornadoes crossed the heart of La Plata and caused catastrophic damage. As the primary tornado continued eastward through the rest of Charles County, the secondary tornado dissipated after peaking at F2 intensity.
At approximately 7:30 pm, the tornado moved through Calvert County, causing widespread F1/F2 damage. After crossing through Chesapeake Bay, the tornado entered Dorchester County and intensified back to F3 strength, leaving a path of destruction before dissipating west of Salisbury, Maryland.
The La Plata tornado stayed on the ground (or in the bay) for 90 minutes, moving at an average speed of and causing a 64-mile path of damage and destruction through southeast Maryland.
Impact
The tornado took a path through Charles, Calvert, Dorchester and Wicomico Counties, downing or uprooting thousands of trees and leveling several structures, including catastrophic structural damage in downtown La Plata, where approximately 65 percent of the area was heavily damaged or destroyed. 3 people were killed, and some 122 others were injured. In all, the tornado inflicted $115 million in damage.
After touchdown, F1 damage was reported near Pisgah, where a house was unroofed with F3 damage reported in two subdivisions west of La Plata. Unfortunately, as the tornado moved southeastward, it continued to strengthen while tearing through downtown La Plata, with swaths of F4 being observed. Along Route 6, cars were tossed & thrown over, with the 125-foot city water tower also being blown over. At the Posies Market, only a few walls were left standing. Heavy F4 damage was noted just east of the lumber yard. While moving through La Plata, the tornado was likely moving at the unusually fast speed of , nearly a mile a minute, with destruction occurring in near seconds. After leaving La Plata, a heavily wooded area sustained severe damage, with several more homes being leveled. A 51-year-old man was killed with his wife being critically injured when their house, which was under construction, on Hawkins Gate Road collapsed. During the striking of one of the homes near Normandie and Route 6, seven people were inside and miraculously managed to survive. (3 were already in the basement while 2 others were on the first floor headed to the basement, with the last 2 still on the second floor.) In total across Charles County, 638 homes were damaged while 100 others were completely destroyed. 143 business (mainly in downtown La Plata) were damaged with 49 others being destroyed.