Line of strong storms brings barrage of tornado warnings to Loudoun, Montgomery and Frederick counties
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Showers and storms Wednesday have brought heavy bands of rain and a barrage of tornado warnings to the D.C. area, which were concentrated in the area of Montgomery, Frederick and Loudoun counties as another line of strong storms moved in Wednesday night.
Latest warnings:
Tornado warning until 8:45 p.m. for northwestern Anne Arundel County, southeastern Howard County and southwestern Baltimore County
Tornado warning until 8:15 p.m. for central Montgomery County
A strong line of storms formed in the area of Montgomery, Frederick and Loudoun counties and was capable of producing brief tornadoes. The system was moving east at 20 mph.
The sprawling supercell produced rotation in several areas, leading to the National Weather Service to issues tornado warnings in quick succession.
WTOP’s Dave Dildine was on the ground in Gaithersburg, Maryland, as a confirmed tornado swept through the area.
“It just went right over me,” Dildine said. “It’s swirling, the sky is swirling like a top. I can confirm there is a tornado on the ground in Gaithersburg. I am just off of Quince Orchard Road, the circulation to my east. … A couple of small branches were taken down, this is not a very powerful tornado at this point but that can change rapidly and that’s why you’re inside, in a basement.”
While not extremely powerful or damaging, Dildine said it was a well-defined twister.
“A lot of tornadoes in the mid atlantic are ragged. They’re difficult to see. This was as clear as day — the sky rotating like a top spiraling down above Quince Ochard Road. … And you could see a funnel cloud descending to the ground. A swirl of leaves, the tree canopy twisting and turning in the wind. It came very close to me — it was just to my north.
The radar confirmed tornado was spotted over Germantown at 7:28 p.m. moving east at 25 mph. The National Weather Service said the tornado was in the area of Germantown, Rockville, Gaithersburg, Olney, Aspen Hill, Montgomery Village and Redland around 7:35 p.m.
The weather service described the tornado as “large, extremely dangerous and potentially deadly.”
A radar-confirmed tornado was also seen in Poolesville and in Leesburg shortly beforehand.
Poolesville, Maryland, tornado @MontgomeryCoMD pic.twitter.com/baqGoIqLhO
— Pete Piringer (@mcfrsPIO) June 5, 2024
The storm was also producing hail as large as three quarters of an inch in certain areas, NWS said.
“This whole atmosphere is quite unstable in this area thanks to that warm front that came through, so more severe weather is possible for the next couple of hours. I think that by about 9 o’clock the worst of it should be out of here,” WTOP meteorologist Mike Stinneford said.
As an earlier round of storms pushed north and west, rotation kicked up and triggered tornado warnings across the region, including in Frederick, Carroll, Charles and Baltimore counties in Maryland. The system produced “blinding downpours,” according to Stinneford, downed trees and snarled traffic during the afternoon rush.
Amid the showers and storms, there were around 1,600 customers without power in Alexandria City, as of 4 p.m. That impacted some traffic lights and police asked drivers to follow officers’ directions in areas where there are flashing traffic lights.
With some “spinning in the atmosphere,” Stinneford said it’s possible more tornado warnings will be issued in other areas Wednesday night as storms move north and east across the region.
“As these cells move off to the northeast they will tend to rotate and so the threat for severe weather, including isolated tornadoes, will stay with us for the next several hours,” Stinneford said.
Flood watch for the DC region
The heavy, on and off rain in parts of the D.C. area triggered a flood watch by the National Weather Service. The flood watch started at noon and lasts until 10 p.m. Wednesday, encompassing the entire D.C. area and stretching up past Annapolis and Baltimore, Maryland.
“Rainfall amounts of 1 to 2 inches are likely, with isolated amounts of 3 to 4 inches possible,” the weather service stated in its forecast.
Areas that are low-lying or nearby waterways are most at risk for flash flooding.
The storms popped up in the western suburbs Wednesday afternoon and moved east, with some of the heaviest rain hitting just in time for the afternoon commute.
7News First Alert Meteorologist Brian van de Graaff said heavier pockets of rain could lead to flooding in areas with bad drainage, including urban areas.
“We’ll have some off and on showers, some of those could continue to develop over the same spots and the limited movement over the same spots and the limited movement out of that same area could lead to some of that flooding,” he said.
If you’ve felt the humidity across the region in the last few days, then you won’t be surprised to hear there is a high volume of moisture in the air.
“The air is just laden with moisture, just so full of moisture that when these showers and storms develop, they have a lot of moisture to tap into,” van de Graaff said. “And that’s why we have some of that concern.”
Thursday has a few more scattered showers in the forecast, including some mugginess as the storm front leaves the D.C. area.
“Once it fully clears the air will start to be wrung out and by Friday, we’ll still be in the 80s but without the humidity, it’s going to feel much more refreshing,” van de Graaff said.
The weekend is looking dry and warm, even “rather wonderful,” he said.
Full Forecast
WEDNESDAY:
Mostly cloudy
Rain, storms
Highs: 78-83
Winds: Southeast 5-10 mph
WEDNESDAY NIGHT:
Lingering showers and storms
Highs: 69-75
Winds: Southwest 5-10 mp
THURSDAY:
Morning clouds, afternoon sun
Scattered showers, storms
Highs: 84-88
Winds: SW to NW 5-10 mph
FRIDAY:
Mostly sunny
Highs: 80-85
Winds: West 5-10 mph
Current weather
Outages:
WTOP’s Acacia James and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
WTOP’s Jessica Kronzer contributed to this report.
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