Third Tornado Struck DC During Thunderstorms: National Weather Service

UPDATE - WASHINGTON, D.C. — The National Weather Service announced Friday afternoon that a third tornado swept through Arlington and crossed the Potomac River into the District, knocking down trees and tearing the roof off a church. There were no injuries reported.

The EF-0 tornado, with winds of 60 to 70 mph, touched down around the Army-Navy Country Club in Arlington at about 1:39 p.m., where it toppled trees, according to a preliminary damage survey, the NWS said. The weather service said the tornado moved northwest on a 4.5-mile track, passing the Pentagon and crossing the river to the Tidal Basin, where it knocked down a number of cherry trees.

The tornado kept moving northwest into the District; the weather service says it tore part of the roof off St. Aloysius Gonzaga Church on North Capitol Street before dissipating at about 1:45 p.m., according to radio station WTOP.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The line of thunderstorms that roared through the D.C. region Thursday afternoon brought two tornadoes with it, the National Weather Service announced late Thursday. One touched down in the Herndon area, and the other uprooted trees in Southeast Washington, according to media reports.

Both tornadoes were rated EF-0, the weakest type, with wind speeds of 60 to 70 mph, radio station WTOP reported. There were no reports of injuries from the two twisters.

The first tornado touched down at about 1:36 p.m. Thursday in the vicinity of Builders Road and Crestview Drive in Herndon, the weather service said, damaging fences and trees.

A second tornado touched down at 1:41 p.m. near Joint Base Anacostia–Bolling in the District, WTOP said. The twister uprooted about a dozen trees and damaged the roof of a nearby apartment building.

The weather service said that further surveys of the damage caused by Thursday's storms will be conducted Friday.

Image: NOAA