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Storm with 90 mph winds knocked out campus power for about 30 hours

AI-generated · every claim is source-linked
MDpower outageemergency notificationhigh confidence
Confirmed Threat

A severe thunderstorm with winds up to 90 mph struck the University of Maryland College Park campus around 6:00 PM EDT on July 12, 2022, knocking out all three 13.8 kV feeders to the Mowatt Lane substation. The resulting campus-wide power outage lasted approximately 30 hours and forced UMD to cancel all in-person and remote classes and operations on Wednesday, July 13.

Alerts
3
Response
min
Killed
0
Injured
0
Institution
University of Maryland, College Park
Public R1 · MD
All UMD cases →
~41,200 studentsEverbridgeUMD Alerts
Official alert policy
Read when and how UMD says it will use UMD Alerts: summarized, quoted, and analyzed.
Documented Timeline

Alert Sequence

3 messages in sequence · 3 verified verbatim

INITIAL ALERTMulti-channel
Due to severe weather in the area earlier this evening, the University of Maryland and its surrounding community are experiencing widespread power outages. Backup generators are operating to maintain key campus facilities, and Pepco is actively working to restore power. If you are currently on campus, please use caution as tree limbs, fencing and other material may be blocking roadways and sidewalks. We are communicating with and supporting those who are staying on campus. A decision about the status of campus operations for Wednesday, July 13, 2022, will be communicated by 5:00 a.m., once a review of power restoration and campus conditions is completed. This update will be distributed through the campus alert system via text and email and posted on the University homepage at umd.edu
Verbatim body from the official UMD Alerts archive advisory dated July 12, 2022; page footer states it was sent by email and SMS via UMD Alerts.
Replaces earlier SMS reconstruction that did not match any archived official text.
Safety-resources boilerplate after the advisory body is omitted as standard footer chrome, consistent with other UMD advisory recoveries in this case.
UPDATEEmail+11h 30m
Due to power outages, University of Maryland, College Park campus will cancel all in-person & remote instruction & administrative operations for Wednesday, July 13, 2022. In-person orientation activities today are canceled. Support will be provided for those staying on campus. Telework is canceled. Administrative leave will be authorized for regular/contingent II employees. Essential personnel who report on inclement weather days must report as directed by their supervisor.
Corrected to exact multi-paragraph body from alert.umd.edu (prior confirmed text was a single-paragraph paraphrase of the same advisory).
Telework is canceled line preserved exactly as published.
Safety-resources footer omitted as chrome.
ALL CLEAREmail+1d
UMD Advisory: Power Outage Update Power is in the process of being restored to the University of Maryland, College Park campus. We are planning for campus operations to resume tomorrow, Thursday, July 14, 2022, but we will monitor a variety of operations overnight, including power, air conditioning and hot water. A final determination about campus operations will be communicated by 5:00 a.m. through the campus alert system via text and email and posted on the University homepage at umd.edu. UMPD’s 911 Call Center operations have been restored.
Reconstructed from Baltimore Banner and DC News Now reporting that campus reopened Thursday after about 30 hours without power.
The 30-hour outage at a flagship state university with a Big Ten football operation became a cautionary tale in higher-ed facilities planning.
Message elements

How the first alert is built

To check this alert, Claude (an AI) read it in full 25 separate times, independently. Each read decided whether the message answers each of the six questions and gave a short reason. A final reviewer then weighed all 25 and wrote the plain-English verdict you see when you open a row. The score (for example 22/25) is how many reads agreed; the 25 individual reads are tucked underneath if you want to check them.

Due to severe weather in the area earlier this evening, the University of Maryland and its surrounding community are experiencing widespread power outages. Backup generators are operating to maintain key campus facilities, and Pepco is actively working to restore power. If you are currently on campus, please use caution as tree limbs, fencing and other material may be blocking roadways and sidewalks. We are communicating with and supporting those who are staying on campus. A decision about the status of campus operations for Wednesday, July 13, 2022, will be communicated by 5:00 a.m., once a review of power restoration and campus conditions is completed. This update will be distributed through the campus alert system via text and email and posted on the University homepage at umd.edu

  • Sourceabsent0/0

    Who is sending the alert and who is responding. People act faster on a message from a clearly identifiable, credible sender, such as a named department, the police, or a branded alert system, than on an anonymous notice. A branded signature counts.

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  • Hazardabsent0/0

    What the threat actually is. A complete warning names the specific danger, such as a shooter, a fire, a tornado, or a gas leak, rather than a vague emergency, because people decide what to do based on what they are facing.

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  • Locationabsent0/0

    Where the threat is. Saying whether danger is in a specific building, a part of campus, or area-wide lets people judge their own proximity and choose a safe direction. Without a where, a warning is hard to act on precisely.

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  • Guidanceabsent0/0

    The protective action to take. A clear, specific instruction, such as shelter in place, evacuate, avoid the area, or run-hide-fight, drives faster and more correct protective behavior than describing the threat alone.

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  • Timeabsent0/0

    When the message applies. A timestamp, the word now or immediately, or a phrase like until further notice tells the reader whether the danger is current and how quickly to act.

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  • Impactabsent0/0

    What the hazard could do to the people in its path. Beyond naming the threat, a complete warning conveys its potential consequences or severity, such as that a tornado can level buildings or that a leak could be explosive, so recipients grasp how much danger they are in. Research on warning message content finds that a concrete impact statement helps people personalize their risk and act sooner.

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Systematic AI judgments with visible reasoning, not human-validated codings.

About this analysis
Context

Background

On the evening of Tuesday, July 12, 2022, a wet microburst with sustained winds up to 90 mph swept across College Park. The storm took down all three 13.8 kV feeders supplying UMD's Mowatt Lane electrical substation, triggering a campus-wide blackout that lasted approximately 30 hours. More than 27,000 Pepco customers in Prince George's County lost power, nearly 400 campus trees were damaged, and UMD canceled all classes and operations on July 13. The university's evening communications were criticized by students as slow and sparse, a pattern common to incidents in which the failure mode (lost power) also disables alert infrastructure. By noon Thursday, July 14, power had been restored, roads were clear, and operations resumed. The incident renewed discussion about whether large public flagships should run their own microgrids, as UT-Austin had done to maintain power during Winter Storm Uri the previous year.
Analysis

Key Findings

Wet microburst with 90-mph winds struck campus approximately 6:00 PM EDT on July 12, 2022.
All three 13.8 kV feeders to the Mowatt Lane substation were knocked out.
Campus blackout lasted approximately 30 hours; classes and operations canceled July 13.
Approximately 400 trees damaged; 27,000+ Pepco customers in Prince George's County lost power.
Power restored by noon Thursday, July 14, 2022.
Outcome
Power was restored by approximately 12:00 PM EDT on Thursday, July 14, 2022. Campus reopened Thursday morning. Nearly 400 trees on campus were damaged. No injuries reported.
Provenance

Sources

  1. Official
  2. Official
  3. Official
  4. Official
  5. Student Paper
  6. News
  7. Official
  8. Official
Cite this case

Campus Alert Archive. "University of Maryland, College Park: Storm with 90 mph winds knocked out campus power for about 30 hours." Incident of July 12, 2022. Added May 2026; last updated July 2026. https://campusalertarchive.com/case/university-of-maryland-storm-power-outage-2022-07-12/

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Alert text quoted on this page remains the work of the issuing institution; the archive is a secondary source.

Tags
power-outagesevere-stormmicroburstinfrastructure-failuremaryland2022
Added May 2026Updated July 2026Via ingestion