OCEAN CITY — The severe storm that popped up unexpectedly Monday included a confirmed tornado that touched down near the foot of the Route 50 Bridge setting in motion a series of events that caused major traffic backups.
The late Monday afternoon storm included several inches of rain in a short amount of time, heavy hail, flash flooding in and around the downtown area already prone to high water in even modest weather events and even a confirmed tornado. On Tuesday, the National Weather Service confirmed the waterspout that formed in the Assawoman Bay around 4:40 p.m. during the storm on Monday made landfall in the area of Route 50 and Philadelphia Avenue or essentially right at the base of the Route 50 bridge.
The National Weather Service reported the tornado had dissipated at about 4:45 p.m., or just five minutes after it made landfall, but that was long enough to snarl traffic in and around the downtown area and on the bridge for several hours. Route 50 eastbound was still at a standstill hours later and, anecdotally, a typical 10-minute trip from West Ocean City into Ocean City turned into an hour around 6 p.m.
Several forces were at play during the major traffic jam. Because of the flooding, Ocean City officials had already cut off traffic to the south end of downtown and a significant accident at the foot of the Route 50 Bridge caused further lane closures on the eastbound side. On the westbound side, the tornado had sheared off the tops of two drop-down gates that prevent traffic from crossing when the drawbridge is open and State Highway Administration (SHA) crews were on hand repairing the gates and other damages.
The downtown area was already inundated with flood waters, causing significant traffic delays in and around the bridge, and the accident at the same time at the foot of the bridge brought eastbound traffic to a standstill. Meanwhile, SHA crews were busy repairing the sheered-off drawbridge gates on the westbound side forcing lane closures. The result was a major traffic jam that extended back into Ocean City for traffic leaving the resort and a backup on the eastbound side that snarled traffic in West Ocean City and back to the Berlin area at the height of the incidents.
The tornado caused damage throughout the downtown area. According to a list of reported damage from the Ocean City Police Department, the Assateague House and the Angler restaurant suffered roof damage, while M.R. Ducks suffered superficial damage. Over on Chicago Avenue, a port-a-potty was overturned and a large broken treetop landed on one of the city’s CALE parking machines.
After the storm cleared the area, the south end of Ocean City was flooded for hours. Above was the scene at 11th Street and Philadelphia Avenue on Monday afternoon. Photo by Jonathan Shabba
A palm tree blocked the roadway at the Oceanic Motel, a crosswalk signal was down at Route 50 and Philadelphia Avenue and a street light was broken at City Hall. In addition, two heavy beach stand boxes at Dorchester Street and at the Inlet were picked up by the tornado and moved about 30 feet, while another beach stand box at Talbot Street was overturned.
In terms of the accident that snarled traffic on the bridge after the storm, an Ocean City Emergency Services manager at the base of the bridge monitoring the traffic and the road closures south of the span witnessed the multiple collisions and reported the incident to police. The witness told police a silver Volkswagen driven by Sara Ali, 30, of Alexandria, Va., was traveling eastbound on the bridge when she split the two lanes of traffic and sideswiped two over vehicles simultaneously.
According to police reports, Ali swerved into the right lane and struck a Toyota Camry, then swerved back to the center lane and struck a Dodge Durango. The witness reported Ali was traveling across the bridge at a high rate of speed and struck the two vehicles almost simultaneously. She then plowed into the back of a Nissan Xterra.
OCPD officers questioned Ali after the accident and she admitted she was not paying attention and her brakes were “sticky.” She also admitted driving at a high rate of speed and failing to stay in her lane when she split the two lanes and struck two vehicles before slamming into the back of a third. When asked to explain how the crashes occurred, Ali just shrugged and said she didn’t know, according to police reports.
In terms of the damaged gates on the drawbridge, SHA spokesman Charlie Gischlar said on Tuesday high winds damaged two of the gates on the Route 50 Bridge sometime between 5 p.m. and 5:20 p.m. SHA crews were sent out to remove the downed gates from the roadway. One gate was replaced and the other was temporarily repaired so the bridge could be raised safely.
During the quick repair job, the right lane of the westbound section of the bridge was closed, further complicating the backups on the eastbound side of the span caused by the accident and the road closures due to flooding. In addition, there was some fencing along the bridge that was hanging loose along with a couple of damaged rails that had to be removed to ensure vehicle and pedestrian safety. SHA crews were back on the bridge on Tuesday completing repairs to the damaged gates.
