ARLINGTON, VA — The tornado that wreaked havoc in Arlington and D.C. on April 6 took a path that is familiar to many local commuters, traveling largely along Interstate 395 across the Potomac River.
The National Weather Service just released their preliminary damage survey results from the outbreak of seven tornadoes in the D.C. area on April 6. The Arlington tornado formed at the Army-Navy Country Club at 1:39 p.m. and traveled northeast along I-395, striking the Pentagon directly, crossing the Potomac right alongside the 14th Street Bridge, moving through the National Mall, and ending about where I-395 intersects with New York Avenue at 1:45 p.m.
The tornado was a weak one, achieving a rating of EF-0 (EF-5 being the highest) and reaching peak winds of 70 miles per hour. The tornado traveled a total of four and a half miles, and had a max width of 50 yards. There was one injury as a result of the tornado.
“Trees were snapped along Interstate 395 adjacent to Army-Navy Country Club at approximately 1:39 PM EDT,” the report states. “Video of a portion of the Pentagon Parking Lot showed a vortex cross between two light poles, ripping off one lamp from the top of the poles. Additional video from the Pentagon showed two rope-like funnel clouds form at the same time, although it could not be determined from the video whether these funnels touched the ground or were attached to the cloud base.”
One person received minor injuries when part of a Macy’s storefront at the Fashion Centre at Pentagon City fell on a car.
“Video from the National Park Service National Mall and Memorial Parks showed a waterspout over the Potomac River west of the Tidal Basin; however, it is not clear the vertical extent of this waterspout and whether it was sourced from the cloud base, or an independent vortex associated with the gust front,” the report continues. “The waterspout then moved onshore near the George Mason Memorial at the Tidal Basin at approximately 1:41 PM EDT. Here, multiple large softwood and hardwood trees, including several ornamental cherry trees, had large branches downed and/or were uprooted around the Tidal Basin. While some minor tree damage was evidenced near the George Mason Memorial on the southwest side of the Tidal Basin, the most concentrated damage was in the grove of trees directly adjacent to the parking lot of the Tidal Basin Marina.”
The last reported damage was to the roof of the St. Aloysius Church at the intersection of North Capitol and I Streets NW at 1:45 p.m.
by Dan Taylor
April 21, 2017
