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Washington DC weather: Warm, less humid for Wednesday

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 05:32:05 EST


http://www.wjla.com/weather/

Flash Flood Watch issued for D.C. area through 6 p.m.

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 13:29:43 EST


The National Weather Service has issued a Flash Flood Watch for the parts of the Washington area through 6 p.m. Tuesday.

A Flash Flood Warning had been issued for Charles County, southern Prince George's County, southern Anne Arundel County and northwestern Calvert County until 5 p.m.

The Watch includes areas including the District of Columbia, Anne Arundel, Calvert, Charles and Prince George's counties in Maryland and Arlington, Falls Church, Alexandria, Culpeper, Fairfax, Prince William, Manassas, Manassas Park, Spotsylvania and Stafford counties in Virginia.

Forecasters say that showers and thunderstorms, which have overspread most of the region already, will dump moderate to heavy rain throughout the afternoon. One to three inches of rain are possible in some spots, which is enough to cause flash flooding.

Areas impacted by the Flash Flood Warning may have already received up to 3 inches of rain, with more expected. Parts of the counties near the Severn River are impacted, as well as cities and towns including La Plata, Chesapeake Beach, Port Tobacco and others.

A Flash Flood Watch indicates that conditions could develop that lead to a flood. A Warning indicates that flooding is imminent or is already happening.

For more, stay with ABC7 News and the Stormwatch 7 team at wjla.com/weather.


Coolest Spring in the U.S. since 1996

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 11:51:00 EST
Alex Liggitt

Climate statistics for the month of May and the Spring months of March through May were released in the latest State of the Climate report. The D.C. area was actually slightly above normal temperature-wise for the month of May because of the three 90 degree days to end the month. Otherwise, it was a very changeable month with high temperatures in the 80s one week and 60s the next. Reagan National even recorded two days with lows in the 40s on the 24th and 25th of May, which was the latest such period of temperatures that cool in over 30 years.

Above is a look at the Spring temperature ranks for the United States. Much of the U.S. experienced its top 10 coolest Spring on record from the upper Midwest to the Southeast. The D.C. area was slightly closer to normal for temperatures and the Western U.S. including California and Arizona were well above normal.

See the full report here: NOAA National Climatic Data Center, State of the Climate: National Overview for May 2013

Overall, this was the coolest Spring period since 1996, and the 38th coolest Spring on record.

The above-average precipitation and below-average temperatures in the north-central United States were associated with a spring snow cover extent that was above average. According to data from the Rutgers Global Snow Lab, the spring snow cover extent was the eighth largest on record and the largest since 1984.

According to the report, temperatures for the year are now averaging 0.2 degrees C above normal. Although temperatures are still cooler than average for the year for much of the Midwest, Plains and Southeast states, near-normal to above average temperatures have been noted through the rest of the country.

As far as precipitation, it has been both good and bad. Record precipitation across the Midwest has caused flooding along many rivers including the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers. On the otherhand, California has been experiencing its driest month on record which has contributed to conditions enhancing the threat for forest fires. The Drought Monitor below continues to show exceptional drought for much of the western Plains and through the Southwest though areas along and east of the Mississippi are in good condition entering summer. 

Supermoon 2013: June 22-23 the best chance to see bright moon

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 07:06:46 EST
Adam Caskey

NASA is looking forward to this weekend's supermoon. That's when the moon appears bigger and brighter because it's the closest it will be to earth all year.

ABC7's Adam Caskey visited Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt Tuesday morning. Dr. Michelle Thaller, a NASA Scientist says the moon will appear about 14 percent larger and 30 percent brighter than a typical Full Moon does.

The Moon will be at its closest distance to the Earth at exactly 7:32 a.m. on June 23, but you can still see it on the night of the June 22 as well.

Supermoons occur when the moon reaches the lunar perigee - its closest point to the earth on its elliptical orbit around Earth. ABC7's Eileen Whelan pointed out last year that the Earth's perigee is about 50,000 kilometers closer to our planet than its apogee, which is the moon's longest distance from Earth.

In 2012, a supermoon was able to be seen on May 6, and a 2011 supermoon was visible on March 19.

Washington DC weather: Warm, muggy day with chance of late rain

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 05:37:53 EST


http://www.wjla.com/weather/


Tornadoes vs. gustnadoes: Devon Lucie explains the difference

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 19:40:51 EST


The National Weather Service confirmed a tornado was responsible for some storm damage Thursday afternoon in Montgomery County, tracking for more than 17 miles.

Meteorologist Devon Lucie explains the difference between the formation of that EF-0 tornado and ones like the devastating EF-5 tornadoes in Oklahoma earlier this spring.

June 13 Montgomery County tornado tracked for 17 miles

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 15:45:09 EST


http://www.wjla.com/blogs/weather/2013/06/long-track-tornado-confirmed-in-montgomery-county-19116.html

D.C. June temperature comparisons and a look ahead to the rest of the month

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 11:35:00 EST


National Weather Service meteorologist Andrew Woodcock mentioned it this morning in his forecast discussion, and it got me thinking, so I dug a little deeper to compare the past five Junes, and I wanted to take a peek at the long range forecast for the rest of this month.

So far this June at Reagan National Airport (DCA), there have been only two 90 degree days with the warmest temperature being 91°. Compare that to 2012 when there were three 90 degree days by the 17th, but there were eight during the second half of the month for a grand total of eleven. Also, keep in mind that there was some serious heat during June 2012 with the warmest reading being 104° on the 29th.

Below is a table of the previous 5 Junes. Of note: June 2010 had eighteen 90 degree days, so over half the month featured highs at or above 90° with a maximum temperature of 100° on the 24th. Conversely, what a relief June 2009 was with only two 90 degree days and a maximum of a mere 91°.



June Comparison

So what’s ahead for the rest of the month? Well, for the rest of this week, I think we’ll have only one shot at a 90 degree day, and that’ll be tomorrow. Also, Sunday and into the final week of June I think we have the potential to come close to 90° for a few more days, and should DCA hit 90°, I doubt it’ll exceed it by much. The Climate Prediction Center has the D.C. area within an increased chance of above average temperatures through the end of June, but no major heat seems to be in the works for the final two weeks of June for the Washington area. That doesn’t mean that it’ll be cool with below average temperatures – I’m just looking at 90 degree day potential.

Long track tornado confirmed in Montgomery County

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 09:52:00 EST


The statement below was issued on Friday from the National Weather Service office in Sterling, VA. Additional surveys may be released at some point today discussing the Saint Mary's County tornado as well as the survey of the damage in the Thornburg, VA area.

...Public Information Statement...
Long track tornado confirmed through Montgomery County, Maryland.

One additional tornado confirmed in Saint Mary’s County, Maryland
One investigation continues in Spotsylvania County

One long track tornado has been confirmed through Montgomery County. A second tornado was confirmed in Saint Mary’s County affecting the Coltons Point area. A third area of wind damage is still under investigation near Thornburg, Virginia.

The Montgomery County tornado report follows. The Saint Mary’s tornado
report will be available on Monday as the survey team is still working on the details. The Thornburg event will also be detailed on Monday.

The National Weather Service in Sterling expresses its appreciation
to those who assisted in conducting surveys and provided information
used during the surveys...including members of the emergency management...skywarn storm spotters...and members of the public affected by these storms.


...Tornado confirmed in Montgomery County, Maryland...

Location...North Potomac to Burtonsville in Montgomery County, Maryland
Date...June 13 2013
Estimated time...3:41 pm EDT to 3:59 pm EDT
Maximum EF-scale rating...EF-0
Estimated maximum wind speed...75 mph
Maximum path width...150 yards
Path length...17.3 miles
Beginning lat/lon...39.091N / 77.269W
Ending lat/lon...39.108N / 76.947W
* Fatalities...0
* Injuries...0

* The information in this statement is preliminary and subject to
change pending final review of the event(s) and publication in
NWS storm data.

...Summary...

Eyewitness accounts...radar imagery...and a ground survey concluded
a long track EF-0 tornado occurred in Montgomery County, Maryland
on the afternoon of June 13th 2013. Peak winds were estimated at
75 mph. Damage was almost entirely from downed trees. In that
regard numerous homes and a few parked vehicles were damaged by
trees falling onto them. No injuries have been reported.

First consistent damage was noted near the intersection of Turkey Foot Road and Jones Lane in southwest Montgomery County near North Potomac, Maryland where a few large trees were over the road. The tornado raced east nearly 60 mph to the northern section of Rockville,
Maryland. At least 14 homes were significantly damaged by uprooted
trees.

As it continued east to the Norbeck and Aspen Hill area 30 trees were uprooted in the Manor Country Club Golf Course as well as numerous homes damaged in the surrounding communities from tree damage. Tree damage was noted along the Intercounty Connector Route 200 at the Layhill Road exit. Finally a few trees were downed in Spencerville and Burtonsville.

Based on the damage, this tornado is rated EF-0, with estimated wind speeds of 75 mph. The 17.3 mile damage path length was covered in 18 minutes and had consistent small branch damage with occasional areas with significant tree damage.

Additionally there was a parallel 7 miles path of damage through south
Rockville and Glenmont, Maryland with similar tree damage. This area was found to be straight line winds from the outflow just south of the tornado from the parent supercell storm.

The National Weather Service would like to extend its thanks to Montgomery County Fire who confirmed the tornado on the ground during the storm and Montgomery County Emergency Management who provided invaluable assistance during the ground survey.

Washington DC weather: Muggy, but sunny and warm day with some sprinkles

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 05:32:32 EST


http://www.wjla.com/weather/

D.C. area possible tornado video and storm reports from Thursday

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 07:53:00 EST


Severe thunderstorms were reported throughout the D.C. area yesterday with the strongest in the afternoon hours. These storms caused wind damage throughout the region and more tornadoes were reported just 4 days after the last event on Monday. What an active week!

A tornado was reported by the fire department in Norbeck in Montgomery County as it crossed Norbeck Rd. and Georgia Ave. In addition, funnel clouds were reported by trained weather spotters in Spotsylvania County, another in Loudoun County near Countryside by the Sterling Fire Department, and one more at BWI Thurgood Marshall estimated to be a few miles away.

Check out this interactive storm report map where you can click on the individual reports for more information

I came across this video on youtube of a timelapse of the storms yesterday. Apparently this was taken near Columbia, MD and there possibly is a funnel around the 1:06 mark. I'm not sure how authentic this is but is worth taking a look at anyways because of the great timelapse.

This is what the publisher wrote about the timelapse below.

Published on Jun 13, 2013

Filmed a time-lapse of today's severe thunderstorm, and captured the Olney-Colesville tornado zipping by at 1:06. I can't confirm 100% that it is the tornado but it appeared exactly where and when it should have given the NWS warning a few minutes prior.

Later in the video you can see the bow shock and fast-moving winds that spawned a tornado in Rockville, MD.

Tornado or not, still a beautiful storm and an exciting day for storm-spotting in Maryland - enjoy!

Severe weather stories of survival

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 07:16:27 EST


Countless Mid-Atlantic residents witnessed a force they hope to never see again during Thursday’s storm.

“So I pretty much just saw this huge funnel cloud,” explained Mary Bruton. “It was dark and twisting in the air."

The near miss stories that unfolded at the Cloverly Village Shopping Center in Silver Spring, Maryland were remarkable.

C.J. Greenwood was having a hard time driving while the storm rolled through. Moments after parking he realized he had to use the restroom, so he ran into a nearby restaurant and when he returned his car had been crushed by a toppled tree.

"If I was sitting in my car for another two minutes I would not be here talking to you," said Greenwood, a D.C. resident.

Greenwood's sense of gratitude is shared by Rosalind Wilson. She parked near Greenwood's car during the storm and she says something told her to get out and head for cover.

“The tree hit his car and probably missed me probably by a few seconds," said Rosalind Wilson, Upper Marlboro resident.

In Virginia, from Arlington all the way south to Spotsylvania County, there was damage.

Jonathan Pino says he saw what looked like rotating winds slam into his place of work, Safford RVS in Thornburg where two vehicles were flipped.


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