PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE-WASHINGTON
625 PM EDT TUE SEP 25 2001
...SIGNIFICANT TORNADO HITS COLLEGE PARK AND LAUREL AREAS...
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STORM DAMAGE SURVEY TEAM WENT TO THE
COLLEGE PARK AREA OF MARYLAND THIS MORNING. AN AERIAL SURVEY WAS
CONDUCTED ALONG THE LENGTH OF THE TRACK AND A GROUND SURVEY WAS
CONDUCTED AT THE UNIVERSITY. SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE BEGINS JUST
SOUTHWEST OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND AND CONTINUES FOR ABOUT 13
MILES THROUGH A PORTION OF LAUREL TO NEAR SAVAGE MARYLAND. THE
DAMAGE PATH WAS ABOUT 150 YARDS WIDE OCCASIONALLY NARROWING TO ONLY
50 YARDS WIDE. THE TORNADO HAS BEEN RATED AN F-3 ON THE FUJITA
DAMAGE SCALE. AN F-3 TORNADO HAS MAXIMUM WINDS BETWEEN 158 AND 206
MPH. TORNADOES ARE RATED ACCORDING TO THE MAXIMUM DAMAGE THAT THE
STORM PRODUCES.
THE TEAM FIRST SURVEYED THE AREA ON THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND
CAMPUS ALONG UNIVERSITY BOULEVARD. TEN CONSTRUCTION TRAILERS WERE
TOTALLY DESTROYED. THE BASE OF ONE OF THE TRAILERS WAS DEPOSITED IN
TREES ABOUT 200 YARDS AWAY. LARGE MISSILES WERE GENERATED THAT
STRUCK THE UNIVERSITY BRICK BUILDINGS. THE BUILDINGS WERE ABLE TO
WITHSTAND THE POUNDING WITH ONLY DAMAGE TO WINDOWS, EXTERIOR TRIM
AND SOME ROOFING. AN ESTIMATED 200 VEHICLES WERE MOVED, FLIPPED, OR
BECAME AIRBORNE. SOME VEHICLES ARE BELIEVED TO HAVE BEEN CARRIED
SEVERAL HUNDRED YARDS AND TWO FATALITIES RESULTED. THIS DAMAGE WAS
THE BASIS OF THE F-3 RATING.
THIS TORNADIC STORM BEGAN IN VIRGINIA PASSING THROUGH FRANCONIA...
CRYSTAL CITY...PASSING NEAR THE PENTAGON AND INTO THE DISTRICT OF
COLUMBIA. A FUNNEL CLOUD WAS OBSERVED BY SOME OVER THE DISTRICT. THE
TORNADO TOUCHED BACK DOWN OUT OF THIS SAME THUNDERSTORM IN A
SUBDIVISION SOUTHWEST OF THE UNIVERSITY. THIS WAS NEAR WEST
HYATTSVILLE AND NORTHWEST BRANCH STREAM VALLEY PARK. THE TORNADO
REACHED ITS PEAK STRENGTH AS IT MOVED THROUGH THE UNIVERSITY. IT
CONTINUED NORTH-NORTHEAST DAMAGING NUMEROUS HOMES AND BUSINESSES
THROUGH COLLEGE PARK AND BELTSVILLE. BUILDINGS ON THE CAMPUS OF THE
NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH CENTER WERE ALSO DAMAGED.
THE TORNADO TRACKED BETWEEN I-95 AND ROUTE 1 AS IT HEADED FOR
LAUREL. HERE IT TORE PART OF THE ROOF OFF THE LAUREL HIGH SCHOOL AND
THEN CUT THROUGH THE RESIDENTIAL COMMUNITY. AGAIN NUMEROUS HOMES AND
BUSINESSES WERE IMPACTED. THE TORNADO STRENGTH WAS STILL SIGNIFICANT
WITH WINDS ESTIMATED IN THE 125 TO 150 MPH RANGE. THE TORNADO
CROSSED INTO HOWARD COUNTY BEGAN WEAKENING AS IT MOVED TOWARD THE
SAVAGE AREA.
AN ADDITIONAL SURVEY TEAM HAS BEEN OUT TODAY IN CULPEPER AND
FAUQUIER COUNTIES IN VIRGINIA. THAT INFORMATION WILL BE RELEASED AS
SOON AS THE TEAM RETURNS. THE FRANCONIA-CRYSTAL CITY-DC AREA WILL BE
LOOKED AT TOMORROW (WEDNESDAY).
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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