Type Tornado outbreak Tornadoes confirmed 48 Duration of tornado outbreak 2 days | Duration April 27–28, 2002 Max rating Start date April 27, 2002 | |
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Damage ≥$224 million (2002 USD) Similar 2002 Veterans Day Wee, May 2004 tornado outbreak, November 1989 tornado o, May 2003 tornado outbreak, 1974 Super Outbreak | ||
The April 2002 tornado outbreak was a widespread outbreak that began on April 27, 2002 and ending on April 28, 2002. Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska were affected on April 27. More tornadoes were reported in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia on the April 28.
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Generally, tornado reports were widely scattered in each state, but significant to severe damage was noted in multiple states. Overall, the outbreak was responsible for six deaths, 256 injuries and a total in excess of $224 million in tornado damage, with wind and hail adding to the damage total.
Central states (April 27)
A total of six tornadoes, all rated F0 or F1 in strength (see Fujita scale) were confirmed in these states. These first reported tornadoes of the outbreak - on the afternoon of the 27th - caused little or no damage.
3 tornadoes were reported later in the day in Missouri. An F2 tornado produced damage in Willow Springs, MO, and a large F3 tornado struck the Marble Hill, MO area in Bollinger County, MO shortly before midnight. This storm caused the first fatality of the outbreak, and produced $4 million in property damage.
Tornado reports began in Illinois late on the 27th and continued overnight into the 28th. Six tornadoes were reported in Illinois, 10 in Kentucky and one in Indiana. In Illinois, F3 damage was seen at Dongola, IL and Dixon Springs, IL, with over 50 homes damaged or destroyed in Dongola. F2 to F3 damage was also noted with a long track tornado that moved from Tobinsport, IN through Meade County, KY, south of Brandenburg, Kentucky.
Mid-Atlantic states (April 28)
Tennessee saw four tornadoes reported during the pre-dawn hours on the 28th, with a 5th tornado reported shortly after noon. The most substantial damage was seen at Murfreesboro, Tennessee, where 31 injuries and $2.3 million in property damage was reported. The same supercell spawned an additional F2 tornado at Bradyville, Tennessee.
Sporadic but strong tornadoes were reported in all four states on the afternoon of the 28th. A strong F2 tornado produced $45 million in damage in and around Jackson Township, Stark County, Ohio, and additional tornadoes were reported across southwest Pennsylvania, southwest New York, and at Saint Joseph, West Virginia. The Saint Joseph supercell produced large hail a considerable time before this tornado occurred, and the parent supercell later produced the most severe weather recorded during this outbreak, after crossing into Virginia and Maryland.
The worst damage of the outbreak was seen in parts of Virginia and Maryland. A supercell thunderstorm that had earlier produced the St. Joseph, WV tornado crossed the central Appalachian mountains, producing numerous hail and wind damage reports. The supercell has also spawned an F2 tornado in Shenandoah County, Virginia, blowing multiple vehicles and trucks from Interstate 81.
Shortly thereafter, funnel clouds were reported within the same supercell in Fauquier County, Virginia and Prince William County, Virginia.
The supercell then spawned a series of destructive tornadoes while crossing the Potomac River into Maryland, that moved along a nearly continual path starting south of Indian Head, Maryland and continuing into La Plata, Maryland, devastating La Plata's business district. Multiple homes were reduced to bare slabs by the La Plata tornado, and the damage was unintentionally rated as an F5. Further surveys revealed that the homes that were swept away were not attached to their foundations, and the tornado was then downgraded to an F4. Very large hail was also reported with these storms. Much of La Plata had previously been decimated by an F3 tornado on November 9, 1926.
Farther south, tornadoes also produced damage in the City of Bedford, Virginia, and near Emporia, Virginia, along I-95 just north of the North Carolina state line. A total of $125 million in damage, four fatalities, and 122 injuries were directly caused by the Maryland storms (the most expensive in the history of the state). Another $8 million in damage, along with 17 injuries were reported in Virginia.