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Tornado damage in DC
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With today (April 28th) being the anniversary date for the F4 LaPlata, MD tornado(http://www.erh.noaa.gov/er/lwx/Historic_Events/apr28-2002/laplata.htm), I was curious to find out and explore the history of tornadoes in the District. As it turns out, on April 21, 2008, two weak tornadoes (strongest wind 80 mph) struck suburban Washington , mangling trees and stripping siding off several homes, as the National Weather Service later confirmed. According to the local Weather Service, the first apparently touched down just south of Waldorf, then headed north, damaging roofs and bringing down tree branches. A second twister was spotted by a Prince George's County firefighter who was working in Chillum. Later inspection showed that the twister tore off part of the roof of the George E. Peters Adventist School in Hyattsville, about 10 miles northeast of the capital. * (see pictures in slide show below)
If you were living in Washington, D.C. on September 24, 2001; however, you might remember what has been called, one of the greatest tornado outbreaks for the Maryland, Virginia and D.C. region. Responsible for 2 deaths and 57 injuries, it was the most dramatic recent tornado event to directly affect the Baltimore-Washington metropolitan area in the United States.** The first outbreak spawned tornadoes in Virginia, ranging in intensity from F1 to F4! At the time, the older Fujita Scale was in use and winds of an F4 magnitude were classified as ranging from 208-260mph. After the implementation of the new Fujita Scale (2007), winds for an F4 are 166-200mph. A slight drop in range, but regardless, sustained winds of that magnitude can be deadly. A second family of tornadoes moved through Washington, producing a F0 tornado in the Quantico and Prince William Forest Park areas; soon followed by an F1 tornado that left a 15-mile-long path parallel to I-95 and I-395 through Franconia, western Alexandria and southeastern Arlington. This tornado dissipated near the west end of the Mall in Washington, D.C., and was followed by many reports of funnel clouds. The same supercell thunderstorm produced a violent, multiple-vortex F3 tornado in College Park, Maryland. This storm moved at peak intensity through the University of Maryland,College Park campus, and then moved parallel to I-95 through the Beltsville, Maryland area, where the tornado caused extensive damage to the USDA Beltsville Agricultural Research Center facilities. ***
As a personal note, I can honestly say, this tornado hit home to my family. My Aunt's house barely missed damage that September day, however, the Oak tree which was a fixture to the home from the day the house was bought, unfortunately was taken down by the winds that were well over 100mph. In recalling the event, my Aunt said that after seeing the weather alert on television, she turned off the TV and turned on her NOAA radio, which in essence was a lifesaver. Due to the detailed,up-to-the-minute information as the F3 tornado tracked into Beltsville, my Aunt decided to go to the basement, where she only sat on the top step, still not convinced anything would happen, since as she said to me "Nothing ever happens in Beltsville". As it turned out, my Aunt Patty said she heard the familiar "train" sound as the tornado moved right across the corner of her lawn. After the sound was gone, she left the basement and opened up the front door, where all she saw was the black base of the uprooted tree. That tree became a celebrity that day and the days to follow, as people requested taking pictures next to the enormous fallen Oak. In total eight trees were lost, but the most thing, my Aunt and her home were thankfully still alive and well.
Other tornadoes to have affected D.C. through the years, include one in 1814 which killed several British soldiers around the time of The Burning of Washington. An F2 in 1888 touched down in Southwest and went up Maryland Ave, damaging the National Museum (today’s dormant Arts and Industries Building) and the old Botanical Gardens, before the funnel lifted up just short of Capitol Hill. Some other tornado listings can be found here: http://www.erh.noaa.gov/er/lwx/Historic_Events/DC-tornado-events.htm
*(Sources for April 21, 2008 Tornadoes: Fox News and CNN)
**(NOAA-http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories/s777.htm)
*** United States Department of Agriculture, September 25, 2001 press release (http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/!ut/p/_s.7_0_A/7_0_1OB/.cmd/ad/.ar/sa.retrievecontent/.c/6_2_1UH/.ce/7_2_5JM/.p/5_2_4TQ/.d/2/_th/J_2_9D/_s.7_0_A/7_0_1OB?PC_7_2_5JM_contentid=2001/09/0187.html&PC_7_2_5JM_parentnav=LATEST_RELEASES&PC_7_2_5JM_navid=NEWS_RELEASE#7_2_5JM
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