At mid-afternoon on April 28, 2002 severe weather was expected across the Mid Atlantic and Northeast U.S. Severe weather outlooks warned of a moderate risk for severe weather, but the risk was downgraded to a slight risk by late morning. During the afternoon, the severe weather threat was upgraded back to moderate for Maryland and the Mid Atlantic with the threat of tornadoes prominently mentioned. A second tornado watch was issued for most of Maryland at 3:05. By 4:30 p.m., tornadoes were reported on the ground in Southeast Virginia, heading toward southern Maryland.
Advance notice of the severe weather outbreak was excellent, with several releases during the day highlighting the threat. Tornado watches were issued well in advance of the storms. Despite the excellent advance outlooks, watches and warnings, many people in the disaster area reported that they had no warning.
One breakdown did occur at a critical time, as the biggest tornado of the day was touching down. At 6:45 p.m. the warning team at the NWS Baltimore/Washington office issued a severe thunderstorm warning for Charles and Calvert Counties in Maryland. The forecasters chose not to issue a tornado warning, because the storm had appeared to weaken on radar. Also, a piece of critical information had not been relayed to them: that the same storm had produced tornadoes around 5 p.m. while it was still in Virginia. Lastly, forecasters were not dividing up duties so that different teams were monitoring individual storms. These three factors, along with a fear of crying wolf, led the forecasters to stop short of a tornado warning. As the supercell crossed the Potomac River, it rapidly intensified. At 6:56, the tornado touched down west of La Plata. At 7:00 p.m., forecasters decided to upgrade the warning and were attempting to call the EOC in La Plata, but lines were already jammed with reports of the tornado. When the forecasters finally made reached the 911 center, they were told that the tornado was already doing damage. The tornado caused its first fatalities in at 7:10 p.m.
The tornado would remain on the ground for thirty miles, all the way into Calvert County. F4 damage was reported along the path near La Plata. Four people died and over 100 were injured by the devastating storm. Originally classified as an F5, later damage surveys downgraded the damage to that equivalent to an F4 tornado, one of only three F4 tornadoes ever in Maryland. FEMA reported that 85 homes were totally destroyed and another 167 heavily damaged by the twister.
