June 10-14 Severe/Flooding Wx - Obs, Radar, Warnings, Dmg. rpts

[Ian]

Question for DC proper folks: how often are multiple mature trees uprooted in the downtown (e.g. Dupont) area? Once a year? Twice a year?

Probably about 1-2 on avg. last yr it seemed like 5 tho I can't remember now.

[gymengineer]

Gotta wonder if its really a continuous path.

Doesn't seem likely... I agree. But LWX has also been pretty good with ID'ing like a half mile path followed by another half mile path 20 miles later, so I would guess it was small gaps along a skipping path.

[Kmlwx]

Gotta wonder if its really a continuous path.

To fill the gaps a little with personal accounts - 

My mom works at an elementary school in the part of the path between the ending lat/lon and the Layhill Road/ICC exit and there was sig damage in that neighborhood. So at least at that point it was still on the ground. 

[Coach McGuirk]

An EF-0 with 75 MPH winds is not much worse than the wide spread straight line wind damage. 

[RandyHolt]

We got an EF-0. Why downplay it. It was a long track tornado in populated areas and it was a significant weather event. It is what most here seem to covet. Action. I read the much greater risk was supposed to be well south of here. 

 

Fox5 is reporting a 17.3 mile path for the MoCo storm.  

 

Sure it skipped or may not have even lasted a mile in total but in the end there is a general path of destruction. The ground was saturated but there were also plenty of trees topped. My lawn furniture had never traveled farther. 

 

Fox5 said it started in southern Darnestown hoped 270 rode the ICC through South Olney and lifted in Burtonsville. I would like to see it on a map. 

[Hoosier]

EF0 with that long of a path isn't something that has been documented very often, and it's particularly surprising since that area isn't the middle of nowhere with few targets to hit. Using Severeplot, I only found a little over 120 F/EF0s with a path length of at least 17 miles since 1950 (out of like 56,000 tornadoes).

[Master of Disaster]

EF0 with that long of a path isn't something that has been documented very often, and it's particularly surprising since that area isn't the middle of nowhere with few targets to hit. Using Severeplot, I only found a little over 120 F/EF0s with a path length of at least 17 miles since 1950 (out of like 56,000 tornadoes).

 

Interesting fact, thanks for posting that.  

 

One of the pics we took from the EOC wall of the traffic cameras on 355. Not sure if this is the tornado but it does match the location and time. 

 

[wxmeddler]

I am I the only one seeing a skinny stovepipe back there?

[Kmlwx]

I am I the only one seeing a skinny stovepipe back there?

My eyes must be getting bad - whrere?

[The Dude]

My eyes must be getting bad - whrere?

 

I don't see one either.  Unless he's talking about the dark object coming out of the tree line just to the right of the road, but I believe that is the Washingtonian Tower.

[wxmeddler]

I don't see one either.  Unless he's talking about the dark object coming out of the tree line just to the right of the road, but I believe that is the Washingtonian Tower.

 

Right near the center of the screen, it's less obvious now that I see it on a computer. It looked more convincing on my cell phone. Oh well.

[jnis]

I'm looking at it on my cell phone and I see what you mean. You can sort of see a faint stove pipe.

[Mrs.J]

We got an EF-0. Why downplay it. It was a long track tornado in populated areas and it was a significant weather event. It is what most here seem to covet. Action. I read the much greater risk was supposed to be well south of here. 

 

Fox5 is reporting a 17.3 mile path for the MoCo storm.  

 

Sure it skipped or may not have even lasted a mile in total but in the end there is a general path of destruction. The ground was saturated but there were also plenty of trees topped. My lawn furniture had never traveled farther. 

 

Fox5 said it started in southern Darnestown hoped 270 rode the ICC through South Olney and lifted in Burtonsville. I would like to see it on a map. 

 

 

I would like to see a map too. My husbands office is right along 270 in Rockville off of Shady Grove Rd. Going off your description above it went just north of his office, would explain to me why when the brunt of the storm was plowing through he told me that the rain stopped and it got really dark. Then his office got hit with hard driving rain again and his window started to leak. Then power went out.

[Ian]

sketch

[Kmlwx]

I adjusted the levels in photoshop a bit - this could just be rain but it's also possible this was it - pardon my horrible photoshop skills - I haven't used it since HS. 

 

[Ian]

Could be it.

[Kmlwx]

Could be it.

 

Kind of wide for an EF-0 tho maybe. 

[gymengineer]

Look at the region bounded on the left by the center black line going down the screen and on the right by the black pole in the foreground, roughly where the sky brightens up. 

On the cell phone where the contrast is clearer, the left side of "it" is right along the center black line going down the screen. The right edge is where the darker shade ends, about a third of the way to the second vertical black line (the pole), narrowing down to about a quarter of that width. 

That's a pretty narrow width and would be less than or equal to the 150 yd maximum path width described by LWX.

 

I really don't know if that's a shot of the tornado--- just saying there's a darker something that can be seen on the cell phone extending to the ground. 

[Ian]

was it really a supercell anyway? they refer to it as that.. seemed to be more a mini bow/qlcs than a true supercell. 

[Kmlwx]

was it really a supercell anyway? they refer to it as that.. seemed to be more a mini bow/qlcs than a true supercell. 

You're right IMO. Looking at the radar data it really was never a separate entity from the north end of that bow when it was over WV. It just strengthened as it came into the metro area. Mini bow is probably a better classification then a supercell. The stuff that went near the Fredericksburg, VA area and into St. Mary's County looked much more supercellular. 

[Eskimo Joe]

I was part of the storm survey and observed several locations where trees were blown into clumps. There also was a window blown out on a revoling door at the county office building. Once I get the data properly mapped, I will work on publishing the finished product here.

[Quincy]

You're right IMO. Looking at the radar data it really was never a separate entity from the north end of that bow when it was over WV. It just strengthened as it came into the metro area. Mini bow is probably a better classification then a supercell. The stuff that went near the Fredericksburg, VA area and into St. Mary's County looked much more supercellular. 

Here's a look at radar and supercell is definitely not the first thing that comes to mind when I see this:

[Ian]

It *might* have had supercell characteristics but it was part of a line in WV as the bow head then the line fell apart and it was sorta discrete looking for a bit. By the time it got tornado warned it was looking like a bow/qlcs again. 

 

So, am I do understand NWS did not survey the entire track themselves?

[Master of Disaster]

It *might* have had supercell characteristics but it was part of a line in WV as the bow head then the line fell apart and it was sorta discrete looking for a bit. By the time it got tornado warned it was looking like a bow/qlcs again. 

 

So, am I do understand NWS did not survey the entire track themselves?

 

I had a procedure Friday so I was not on the survey but I understand the very end of the track was surveyed by OEMHS staff and supported by pics of damage sent to the NWS team. 

[Eskimo Joe]

It *might* have had supercell characteristics but it was part of a line in WV as the bow head then the line fell apart and it was sorta discrete looking for a bit. By the time it got tornado warned it was looking like a bow/qlcs again. 

 

So, am I do understand NWS did not survey the entire track themselves?

NWS survey approximately 1/4 of the track.  The survey team was split between several other damage assessments and was quite busy.  Montgomery County OEMHS (myself included) surveyed the rest, taking detailed spatial information, damage pictures and notes on the orientation of damage.  This information was then transposed into a map and forwarded the information to the NWS.  I should note that we were dodging media all day so this was a strenuous process.

[mappy]

Can you share the map, Matt?

[Eskimo Joe]

Can you share the map, Matt?

I should be able to, but let me check with the boss.  I won't be back in the office until this Wednesday.

[mappy]

That's fine

[Ian]

NWS survey approximately 1/4 of the track.  The survey team was split between several other damage assessments and was quite busy.  Montgomery County OEMHS (myself included) surveyed the rest, taking detailed spatial information, damage pictures and notes on the orientation of damage.  This information was then transposed into a map and forwarded the information to the NWS.  I should note that we were dodging media all day so this was a strenuous process.

 

I wonder how common a practice that is.  Not that I doubt it for the reasons noted but given that a 17+ mi path is fairly rare around here you'd think NWS would be more rigorous to verify it themselves. 

[Eskimo Joe]

I wonder how common a practice that is.  Not that I doubt it for the reasons noted but given that a 17+ mi path is fairly rare around here you'd think NWS would be more rigorous to verify it themselves. 

NWS Sterling has been stretched thin recently.  They are part of a national test bed for OEM Mets and their entire crew was deployed to MD, DC, VA state ops centers.  MoCo just pitched in to help is all.