WASHINGTON – The National Weather Service now says a total of seven tornadoes touched down in the DC area earlier this month, after initially confirming three.
A line of severe thunderstorms was responsible for producing the tornadoes on April 6. There were numerous reports of straight-line wind damage from central Virginia through northern Virginia and north-central Maryland, including Baltimore and DC. Of the seven confirmed twisters, all of which were rated EF-0, there were only two injuries reported.
Two of the tornadoes touched down in the District of Columbia. The first moved from Arlington to Washington, with a path of 4.5 miles. Trees were snapped along I-395 near Army-Navy Country Club, and video of a portion of the Pentagon parking lot showed a vortex cross between two light poles. A lamp was ripped off of the top of one of the poles. NWS says other video from the Pentagon showed two rope-like funnel clouds that formed at the same time, but it couldn’t be confirmed whether they touched the ground or were attached to the cloud base.
One person was hurt in Crystal City when part of a Macy’s storefront fell on a car. NWS also says video of waterspout over the Potomac River west of the Tidal Basin doesn’t clearly show whether it actually came from the cloud front. That waterspout moved onshore near the George Mason Memorial, damaging trees, and in some cases completely uprooting them. Several cherry trees near the Jefferson Memorial were among those damaged. A portion of the roof of the St. Aloysius Church at North Capitol and I Streets NW was also ripped off.
The second confirmed tornado to touch down in DC started at Joint Base Anacostia Bolling, and moved into Anacostia along a 2-mile path. Several trees were snapped and uprooted, and there was damage to the roof of a building, and a soccer field. The roof was also ripped off of an apartment complex on Stanton Road SE, where one person was injured by flying drywall.
Here’s a list of all seven confirmed tornadoes on April 6 in the DC area:
WHERE: North of Unionville in Orange County, VA
WHEN: 12:29 to 12:33 pm
RATING: EF-0
EST. PEAK WINDS: 85 MPH
PATH LENGTH: 2.7 MILES
MAX WIDTH: 175 YARDS
WHERE: Southwest of Warrenton in Fauquier County, VA
WHEN: 12:58 to 12:59 pm
RATING: EF-0
EST. PEAK WINDS: 80 MPH
PATH LENGTH: 0.3 MILES
MAX WIDTH: 50 YARDS
WHERE: North of Airlie in Fauquier County, VA
WHEN: 1:08 to 1:14 pm
RATING: EF-0
EST. PEAK WINDS: 85 MPH
PATH LENGTH: 5.69 MILES
MAX WIDTH: 75 YARDS
WHERE: New Baltimore in Fauquier County, VA
WHEN: 1:34 to 1:39 pm
RATING: EF-O
EST. PEAK WINDS: 85 MPH
PATH LENGTH: 1 MILE
MAX WIDTH: 75 YARDS
WHERE: Herndon to Sterling Park in Fairfax County and Loudoun County, VA
WHEN: 1:34 to 1:39 pm
RATING: EF-0
EST. PEAK WINDS: 70 MPH
PATH LENGTH: 3.3 MILES
MAX WIDTH: 25 YARDS
WHERE: Arlington to Washington, DC
WHEN: 1:39 to 1:45 pm
RATING: EF-0
EST. PEAK WINDS: 70 MPH
PATH LENGTH: 4.5 MILES
MAX WIDTH: 50 YARDS
WHERE: Near Joint Base Anacostia in southeast DC
WHEN: 1:41 to 1:43 pm
RATING: EF-0
EST. PEAK WINDS: 75 MPH
PATH LENGTH: 2.2 MILES
MAX WIDTH: 25 YARDS
by fox5dc.com staff
APR 24, 2017
