25 year ANNIVERSARY of 2001 college park tornado
On September 24th 2001, a violent F3 tornado tore through College Park, Beltsville, Laurel, and Columbia, injuring dozens, and killing 3. Below is a detailed summary of the damage caused by the tornado that I have completed over the last 12 months with the help of Prince George’s and Howard county Departments of Emergency Management, Prince George’s Public Library System staff, School Administrators with Prince George’s County Public Schools, the National Weather Service, countless residents, and several others.
KLWX radar velocity at the tornadoes peak intensity
Chillum-Columbia (College Park) Tornado 2001
Start location: 1.1 miles NW of Chillum, MD
End location: 2.5 miles E of Columbia, MD
Rating: F3 (EF3 on current rating scale)
Max Winds: >200mph (150-160mph after reevaluation using EF scale)
Width: 0.60 miles
Length: 17.8 miles
Injuries/Fatalities: 55/3 (2 direct and 1 indirect fatality)
Summary:
A violent F3 (EF3 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale) tornado ripped through portions of Prince George’s and Howard counties on September 24th, 2001. The tornado resulted in severe damage to structures, with several homes heavily damaged or destroyed, and leveled forests along its path. The tornado contained multiple intense vortices, like what is more typical of violent tornadoes in the great plains. The tornado was on the ground for almost 18 miles and was around ½ mile wide at times. Sadly, there were 55 injuries and 3 fatalities in association with this tornado. The tornado was rated F3 with 200mph winds, but a reevaluation using the EF scale that is used today, suggests this was a high end EF3 with winds around 150-160mph.
The tornado touched down approximately 1 mile northwest of Chillum, where sporadic tree damage was noted. The tornado moved north, impacting the University of Maryland College Park Campus. On University Blvd, 10 trailers were completely destroyed. According to reports, debris from the trailers was carried as far north as southern Pennsylvania. The tornado then moved over the western sections of the UMD campus, downing countless trees, in addition to striking several buildings on campus. At Denton and Easton Halls, roofs were heavily damaged and windows were blown in. At the North Dining Hall, every window was blown in. Damage to the 3 buildings and surrounding trees is consistent with EF2 level winds between 115-120mph. EF0 level damage, with winds estimated at 80-85mph, occurred at the football stadium where seats were torn from the bleachers.
By Jocelyn Augustino - This image is from the FEMA Photo Library
The tornado then intensified into an F3 (EF3 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale used today), where it debarked several trees near Elkton Hall, leaving just the stubs of the largest branches on the trunks. Just north, in the parking lot near the Denton Community Center, numerous cars were destroyed, and several were lofted and flipped. One car was lofted and thrown into a forest, killing two students instantly. Behind the parking lot, nearly every tree was snapped and uprooted in a large swath. The stubbed trees and lofting of numerous cars are consistent with EF3 level winds of 140mph.
By Jocelyn Augustino - This image is from the FEMA Photo Library
As the tornado continued north, it impacted a church near the intersection of University Blvd and Metzerott Road, where the steeple was blown off. In addition, several cars were flipped and dozens of trees were snapped. The tornado then impacted The Courtyards, where several apartments suffered significant siding and roofing loss. Damage in the courtyards, as well as to the church and along Metzerott Rd is consistent with high end EF1 to low end EF2 winds of 100-120mph. The tornado then intensified back into an EF3, and snapped hundreds of trees behind the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine. Just north of here, along the Memorial Bench Paint Branch Trail, an entire forest was leveled. Hundreds of trees were snapped in this area with no trees left standing. This is consistent with maximum winds of 150-160mph, a mid-high end EF3. The tornado reached its maximum width in this area, just over ½ mile wide when measuring the distance between 2 damage points directly across from each other.
By Jocelyn Augustino - This image is from the FEMA Photo Library
The tornado then moved into a residential area on Kiernan Road, where dozens of trees were snapped. On Cherry Hill Rd, the roof of a Home Depot was blown off. Dozens of power poles and trees were snapped along Route 1 nearby as well. As the tornado continued north, it struck the USDA research facility west of Route 1. Here, it shattered several dozen greenhouses and ripped the roof off the USDA building. Some of the greenhouse structures were twisted and mangled. The tornado continued to move into more densely populated areas of Beltsville, where dozens upon dozens of trees were downed, and a house lost part of its roof along Sellman Road near the Beltsville Branch Library. The tornado then moved into the western sections of Beltsville along Powder Mill Road, where a grove of trees was completely leveled and an office building had the roof blown off. Several buildings along Route 1 suffered significant loss of windows and roofing. The swath of damage from near the Route 1/I-495 interchange north into the western sections of Beltsville is consistent with winds of 120-125mph, EF2 intensity.
Next in line was Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School, where the roof was damaged. The tornado continued moving north, roughly between Route 1 and I-95, where pockets of EF1 level tree damage occurred, including near route 200 in Konterra, as well as near Konterra Drive. As the tornado entered Laurel, it reintensified into an EF2, with winds estimated to be in the 120-130mph range. At Laurel High School, several classrooms were heavily damaged with the roof being blown off as well. Additionally, a home was destroyed on 10th street. Several homes suffered damage along Gorman Ave near Fairlawn Ave. A well-known historical building had the roof blown off, and upper floors had exterior walls partially blown in near the intersection of 9th street and Montgomery Street. Nearby, the St. Vincent Polloti School was severely damaged, with the roof of a well-built attached parking garage was completely removed, and some exterior walls collapsed. Minor damage to the roof of the main school building also occurred. The tornado also downed dozens of trees just north of the school.
Google Earth imagery of Laurel Highschool with loss of exterior walls and large portions of the roof.
The tornado then entered a townhome community on Harvest Way, heavily damaging numerous townhouses. Without specific details of the damage, it is hard to determine how strong the tornado was at this point. Further north, trees were reported down near the intersection of All Saints Road and highway 216, suggesting the tornado began weakening. The next area of damage was reported near Guilford Road south of Columbia, where more trees were blown down. The tornado finally lifted near the intersection of Snowden River Parkway and highway 175 in Columbia where it damaged additional trees. The tree damage along this stretch was estimated to be EF0-EF1 level damage.
KLWX velocity showing the weakening rotation over Columbia
NOTE 1: Details in this report come from discussions with members of the public, staff at the Prince George’s County Public Library System, Prince George’s County Public School System staff, Prince George’s County Dept of Emergency Management, Tornado Talk, The Laurel Police Department, City of Laurel Dept of Emergency Management, the NOAA Storm Prediction Center, the National Weather Service, Howard County Dept of Emergency Management, and Prince George’s Department of Public Works. I extend my sincerest appreciation to the individuals who assisted me in gathering this information through months of outreach and research. I couldn’t have done it without your help!
NOTE 2: This summary is not an official NWS survey. The official NWS survey can be found here: https://www.weather.gov/media/lwx/stormdata/2001/storm0901.pdf
You can also find a link to the summary from Tornado Talk here: https://www.tornadotalk.com/college-park-md-f3-tornado-september-24-2001/
