Campus Alert Archive
UMD

A Wet Microburst, 90-MPH Winds, and 30 Hours Without Power at UMD

MDpower outageadvisoryhigh 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
~41,200 studentsEverbridgeUMD Alerts
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

3 messages in sequence · 1 verified verbatim

Some alert texts below are approximate reconstructions from news coverage, not confirmed verbatim transcripts. Reconstructed texts are shown in italic with a dashed border. Verified verbatim texts have a solid border and are marked accordingly.

INITIAL ALERTSMS
Approximate reconstructionUMD Alerts (reconstructed from press accounts and standard UMD message format)222 chars
UMD ALERT: Severe weather has caused widespread power outages and damage on the College Park campus. Take shelter indoors away from windows. Avoid downed power lines and damaged trees. Remain in place until further notice.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Reconstructed from coverage in The Diamondback and DC News Now; UMD does not retain a permanent text archive of individual SMS alerts.
Students later complained the university communications were sparse and slow during the actual storm itself.
UPDATEEmail+11h 30m
Verified verbatimUMD Alerts archive — UMD ADVISORY: Power Outage Impacts537 chars
UMD ADVISORY: Power Outage Impacts: Classes and Operations Canceled. Due to power outages, the University of Maryland, College Park campus will cancel all in-person and remote instruction and administrative operations for Wednesday, July 13, 2022. In-person orientation activities for today are also canceled. Telework is canceled and administrative leave will be authorized for regular and contingent II employees. Support will be provided for those staying on campus. Campus operations are planned to resume on Thursday, July 14, 2022.
The 'telework is canceled' line is the unusual phrase — most universities would default to telework during a campus power outage. UMD explicitly told employees not to log in remotely, presumably because key central systems were also down.
Verbatim from the official UMD Alert archive entry for July 13, 2022.
ALL CLEAREmail+1d
Approximate reconstructionUMD Alerts — restoration message paraphrased from press coverage339 chars
UMD ADVISORY: Power Outage Restoration. Power has been substantially restored to the College Park campus following the July 12 storm. Roads and sidewalks are passable. Classes, operations and orientation activities resume Thursday, July 14, 2022. Buildings with residual issues will be communicated separately. Thank you for your patience.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

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.
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 accelerated a long-running conversation about whether large public flagships should run their own microgrids — a model UT-Austin had famously deployed to weather Winter Storm Uri 18 months earlier without losing power at all.
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
    UMD ADVISORY: Power Outage Impacts: Classes and Operations Canceled
    alert.umd.edu
  2. Official
    Looking Back At The Storm of July 12th 2022 — UMD AOSC
    aosc.umd.edu
  3. Student Paper
    Massive storm causes destruction across College Park, UMD campus — The Diamondback
    dbknews.com
  4. News
    UMD students frustrated over lack of communications — DC News Now
    dcnewsnow.com
  5. Official
    Service Outages & Impacts — UMD Facilities Management
    facilities.umd.edu
Tags
power-outagesevere-stormmicroburstinfrastructure-failuremaryland2022
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion