List of tornadoes of Washington, D.C.
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Although it is a relatively small geographical area and tornadoes are a relatively rare phenomenon in the Mid-Atlantic region, Washington, D.C. has been hit by at least ten of these damaging storms since modern records have been kept. This list may be incomplete, as official tornado records only extend back to 1950 in the United States. The surrounding states of Virginia and Maryland average 10 and 6 tornadoes per year, respectively, which is 0.23 and 0.48 tornadoes per per year. In the same time period (1953–2004), Washington experienced only two tornadoes. However, this works out to around 0.56 tornadoes per per year, which is not statistically higher than average for the surrounding area. The climatological peak for tornado occurrences in the area is in July; however, most Washington tornadoes have struck in May, while some have formed as early as April and as late as November. One tornado of particular historical significance is the 1814 storm. Although there is some debate as to whether this storm was a true tornado, it likely killed some British soldiers, heavy rains helped extinguish the fires set by the British, and the losses suffered contributed to their withdrawal from the city. More recent tornadoes have damaged several national landmarks, including the
National Mall The National Mall is a Landscape architecture, landscaped park near the Downtown, Washington, D.C., downtown area of Washington, D.C., the capital city of the United States. It contains and borders a number of museums of the Smithsonian Institut ...
, the National Arboretum, the United States Botanic Garden, and the Smithsonian Institution. Another tornado occurred just two weeks after the September 11 attacks in 2001, crossing the National Mall and narrowly missing the
Pentagon In geometry, a pentagon (from the Greek πέντε ''pente'' meaning ''five'' and γωνία ''gonia'' meaning ''angle'') is any five-sided polygon or 5-gon. The sum of the internal angles in a simple pentagon is 540°. A pentagon may be simpl ...
.


Tornadoes

*August 25, 1814: A "most tremendous hurricane" struck the city during the Burning of Washington during the War of 1812. There are few historical accounts of this event, and many sources disagree on the details. Some sources question whether this event was a tornado or a hurricane. However, most agree that it was a true tornado, and some maintain that it was a tornado followed closely by a hurricane. :Whatever its nature, the storm tore the roofs from many buildings. Several cannons were thrown through the air by the violent winds. Thirty British soldiers and some residents were buried in the rubble, and several died. Damage to trees also occurred "higher in the country." The British Army left Washington soon after the storm, and heavy rains which accompanied the storm helped extinguish the fires. At least thirty people died. *September 16, 1888: Around 3:15 pm, an
F2 tornado The Fujita scale (F-Scale; ), or Fujita–Pearson scale (FPP scale), is a scale for rating tornado intensity, based primarily on the damage tornadoes inflict on human-built structures and vegetation. The official Fujita scale category is determ ...
touched down between 9th Street NW and 10th Street NW, and it tracked for along Maryland Avenue. It unroofed two homes, damaged the Botanic Garden, and damaged the roof of the Smithsonian Institution.Grazulis pg. 645 There were no injuries or deaths. *April 5, 1923: At around 3 p.m., an F3 tornado touched down in the northern Rock Creek Park, moving northeast into Maryland. The tornado tracked for . Twenty people were injured, seven homes were destroyed, and twelve other homes were damaged. There were no deaths. *May 14, 1927: An F0 tornado produced minor damage near North Capitol Street and Rhode Island Avenue at 6:00 p.m. The funnel was a landspout, not associated with a severe thunderstorm, as no wind was reported outside of the damage area. A few trees were uprooted or damaged, with structural damage being limited to roof shingles and awnings, as well as a few tombstones knocked over. No one was injured, and there was only minor damage. *November 17, 1927: At 2:25 p.m., an
F2 tornado The Fujita scale (F-Scale; ), or Fujita–Pearson scale (FPP scale), is a scale for rating tornado intensity, based primarily on the damage tornadoes inflict on human-built structures and vegetation. The official Fujita scale category is determ ...
touched down southwest of Alexandria, Virginia. After damaging Alexandria, the tornado crossed the Potomac River and injured several people at the Anacostia Naval Air Station. :The tornado crossed the Anacostia River and continued through the Navy Yard. From there, the tornado continued northward up Eighth Street Southeast and then turned a bit to travel north on Fourteenth Street near
Lincoln Park Lincoln Park is a park along Lake Michigan on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. Named after US President Abraham Lincoln, it is the city's largest public park and stretches for seven miles (11 km) from Grand Avenue (500 N), on the south, ...
. The tornado continued through the neighborhood of Kingman Park where it demolished several homes. :The tornado also damaged several Maryland suburbs, including Hyattsville, Bladensburg, Benning, and Colmar Manor. The tornado traveled about in all, including about in the District of Columbia. One person died from being struck by lightning while crossing a bridge; 49 other people were injured and 150 homes were either damaged or destroyed in the District.Grazulis, 815 Dozens of families were made homeless from the tornado. :The speed of the tornado's winds were estimated to be . Saint Cyprian Roman Catholic Church, located near Lincoln Park, sustained serious damage. An airplane hangar at Anacostia Naval Air Station was demolished along with the seven airplanes inside it. The tornado also tore the roof off of barracks at Anacostia Naval Air Station. Property losses were estimated to be $1,000,000. *May 21, 1943: A
waterspout A waterspout is an intense columnar vortex (usually appearing as a funnel cloud, funnel-shaped cloud) that occurs over a body of water. Some are connected to a cumulus congestus cloud, some to a cumuliform cloud and some to a cumulonimbus clou ...
formed over the Potomac River, moving on land near the Jefferson Memorial before dissipating without damaging any structures. Another funnel was also sighted, which may have touched down briefly near the National Naval Medical Center in nearby Bethesda, Maryland. * May 18, 1995: At 1:22 p.m., an
F1 tornado The Fujita scale (F-Scale; ), or Fujita–Pearson scale (FPP scale), is a scale for rating tornado intensity, based primarily on the damage tornadoes inflict on human-built structures and vegetation. The official Fujita scale category is determ ...
uprooted dozens of trees and inflicted $50,000 in damage at the National Arboretum. There were no injuries. *September 24, 2001: During a series of tornadoes in the Washington region, a weak tornado passed near the Pentagon, crossed the Potomac, and damaged some trees in D.C. before dissipating near the National Mall. Another funnel cloud passed over Union Station, but did not touch down as a tornado until it reached the College Park and
Beltsville Beltsville is a census-designated place (CDP) in northern Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. The community was named for Truman Belt, a local landowner. The 2020 census counted 20,133 residents. Beltsville includes the unincorporated ...
areas of Maryland. Two people died and 57 were injured. *April 6, 2017: A tornado classified as
EF0 The Enhanced Fujita scale (abbreviated as EF-Scale) rates tornado intensity based on the severity of the damage they cause. It is used in some countries, including the United States, Canada, China, and Mongolia. The Enhanced Fujita scale repla ...
on the Enhanced Fujita scale touched down in southeastern D.C., damaging trees on
Joint Base Anacostia–Bolling Joint Base Anacostia–Bolling (JBAB) is a 905-acre (366 ha) military installation, located in Southeast, Washington, D.C., established on 1 October 2010 in accordance with congressional legislation implementing the recommendations of the ...
. * July 1, 2021: An
EF1 tornado The Enhanced Fujita scale (abbreviated as EF-Scale) rates tornado intensity based on the severity of the damage they cause. It is used in some countries, including the United States, Canada, China, and Mongolia. The Enhanced Fujita scale repla ...
as wide as and with winds of up to formed in Arlington County's Waverly Hills community at 8:59 p.m. The tornado then traveled eastward through the County's Cherrydale and Lyon Village neighborhoods. Several homes lost siding and numerous trees were snapped and uprooted, with some downing power lines. A large tree limb struck a home, injuring and briefly trapping one person.(1)
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:The tornado entered the District of Columbia when crossing the Potomac River near the
Theodore Roosevelt Bridge The Theodore Roosevelt Bridge (also known as the Teddy Roosevelt Bridge or the Roosevelt Bridge) is a bridge crossing the Potomac River which connects Washington, D.C., with the Commonwealth of Virginia. The bridge crosses over Theodore Roosevelt I ...
. The twister then continued eastward along the National Mall until dissipating at 9:05 p.m. near
16th Street NW 16th Street Northwest is a prominent north–south thoroughfare in the northwest quadrant of Washington, D.C. Part of Pierre L'Enfant's design for the city, 16th Street begins just north of the White House across Lafayette Park at H Street and ...
and Constitution Avenue, south of The Ellipse and the White House. :The tornado's winds uprooted trees and broke their trunks and branches on and near the Mall. Temporary fences erected for the Mall's upcoming July 4
Independence Day An independence day is an annual event commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or more rarely after the end of a military occupation. Man ...
events were lifted, twisted and fell near the end of the tornado's path. Portable toilets brought in for the events also toppled over. Straight-line winds damaged trees near other landmarks, including the
Lincoln Memorial The Lincoln Memorial is a U.S. national memorial built to honor the 16th president of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. It is on the western end of the National Mall in Washington, D.C., across from the Washington Monument, and is in the ...
and the District of Columbia War Memorial. :At 9:08 p.m., an
EF0 tornado The Enhanced Fujita scale (abbreviated as EF-Scale) rates tornado intensity based on the severity of the damage they cause. It is used in some countries, including the United States, Canada, China, and Mongolia. The Enhanced Fujita scale repla ...
with winds of up to and as wide as formed to the northeast near H Street NE. The twister traveled southeast into D.C.'s Kingman Park neighborhood, downing several hardwood trees and snapping numerous tree limbs. A large tree limb fell on two cars before the tornado dissipated at 9:10 p.m.


Possible tornadoes

* July 30, 1913: A tornado, or possibly intense downbursts, struck the District during a heat wave. Substantial damage occurred to some buildings and trees were downed throughout the city, including at the White House.Possible tornado struck Washington, D.C. and the White House 100 years ago
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See also

* List of North American tornadoes and tornado outbreaks * Lists of tornadoes and tornado outbreaks *
Timeline of Washington, D.C. The following is a :Timelines of cities in the United States, timeline of the History of Washington, D.C., history of the city of Washington, D.C., U.S. 18th century * 1752 – February: First survey of Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georget ...


References


Book reference

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External links


The Washington DC Tornado of 24 September 2001: Pre-storm environment and radar perspectives
{{DEFAULTSORT:District of Columbia tornadoes Tornado WAsh