Hope Triumphs Over Chaos: The La Plata Tornado of April 28, 2002

The devastating F4 La Plata, Maryland tornado of April 28, 2002, was a significant event for several reasons. First, tornadoes along the Atlantic coast are not common. It tracked across the Chesapeake Bay almost to the Atlantic Ocean. Next, a tornado of this magnitude is extremely rare in the Northeast region. It is only the third to have occurred in the state of Maryland. La Plata has had two, in 1926 and 2002, and one occurred in Frostburg, Maryland in 1998. Also, The La Plata Tornado of April 28th was the strongest ever to strike Maryland, and the second strongest to ever hit the Northeast region. The strongest was the Worchester, Massachusetts F4 tornado that touched down on Tuesday, June 9, 1953.

The tornado originated along the Kentucky/West Virginia border, crossed the state of West Virginia over the Ridge and Valley, Blue Ridge and Piedmont Mountains, and then made it across Virginia. This is indeed a rare event as just like hurricanes, most storms weaken and dissipate when they cross over mountains. At that point in time, the tornado had traveled about four-hundred miles. Once across the Potomac River, it traveled across Charles, Calvert, Dorchester and Wicomico Counties in southern Maryland, a total distance of sixty additional miles, resulting in the total track for this tornado to be about four-hundred sixty miles, a truly remarkable meteorological feat.

The tornado caused in excess of $100 million dollars in property damage, destroying eight-hundred sixty residential homes and one-hundred ninety-four businesses in its wake.

Despite the severity and strength of this tornado, it could not measure up to the sheer determination of the people of the Town of La Plata to pick themselves up and rebuild their beloved town to even greater glory and splendor. The sheer force of the human spirit to overcome this natural disaster would not be denied.