page_title: Tornadoes of 2001
section_title: September 24
hierarchical_section_title: Tornadoes of 2001 / September / September 24
caption_attribution_description: Picture of the tornado which hit the University of Maryland, College Park campus, killing two people.
context_page_description: This page documents notable tornadoes and tornado outbreaks worldwide in 2001. Strong and destructive tornadoes form most frequently in the United States, Bangladesh, and Eastern India, but they can occur almost anywhere under the right conditions. Tornadoes also develop occasionally in southern Canada during the Northern Hemisphere's summer and somewhat regularly at other times of the year across Europe, Asia, and Australia. Tornadic events are often accompanied with other forms of severe weather, including strong thunderstorms, strong winds, and hail.
context_section_description: Six tornadoes struck in and around the D.C. Metro Area, two of which were significant. The first, a destructive F4 tornado, touched down in Culpeper County near Rixeyville, completely destroying a brick home, then destroying several mobile homes, injuring two. In Jeffersonton, it damaged or destroyed a dozen structures. It passed into Fauquier County, damaging a large forested area and a barn.
  Another tornado passed through densely populated areas in Fairfax and Arlington Counties into Washington D.C., causing F1 damage. Shortly afterward, the worst tornado of the outbreak touched down from the same supercell in northern D.C., near Children's Hospital. This tornado was a large multiple vortex tornado, but caused no major damage until it reached Hyattsville.  From there, it rapidly strengthened, causing F3 damage as it approached the University of Maryland western campus. There, 48 people were injured by flying debris. Additionally, two women were killed when the car they were in was thrown over an eight-story building into a wooded area. The tornado then turned into a residential area, causing major damage, and approached I-95. Miraculously, even though there were thousands of cars in traffic on the highway, only one truck was flipped over. Continuing north-northeast, the tornado continued to cause significant damage to trees, residences, and other structures, including the National Agricultural Research Center and several schools, before finally lifting in Howard County, near Columbia. This tornado caused $100 million in damage.
  Another tornado caused F2 damage in Pennsylvania, and other touchdowns occurred New York and North Carolina. In all, the outbreak of nine tornadoes caused more than $105 million in damage, killed two people, and injured 59.
caption: Picture of the tornado which hit the University of Maryland, College Park campus on September 24, killing two people.
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