Meteorologists Link Thunderous Boom Heard Across DC Area To Lightning Strike Near Reston

NORTHERN VIRGINIA/DC — A thunderous boom heard across the D.C. area around 10:45 a.m. Tuesday had residents confused about the source of the noise. The boom could be heard from Ashburn to Centreville, east to Alexandria and D.C. and in Montgomery County, Maryland.

The noise was likely caused by a lightning strike in the vicinity of Reston, where a building was struck, according to the Capital Weather Gang.

At about 11 a.m., Fairfax County Fire & Rescue units were dispatched to a building struck by lightning in 13000 block of Woodland Park Road in Reston. The fire department said there was no damage to the building, but two minor injuries were reported.

The noise sent residents from eastern Loudoun County to D.C. checking to see the source of the noise. On the radar at the time, a small storm cell was moving across eastern Loudoun County and western Fairfax County to the north of the District of Columbia.

"It is likely due to the combination of a cloud-to-ground lightning strike and the resulting thunder trapped within a low-level temperature inversion," Peter Mullinax, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service Weather Prediction Center, wrote in a tweet. "Thunder can sound amplified and extend for miles if the inversion is strong enough."

Many residents in Northern Virginia and D.C. said the boom shook their windows and floors for several seconds.

A resident in Aspen Hill in Montgomery County said they heard the boom. "The dog took off across the room," the person tweeted.

The National Weather Service said severe storms are possible Tuesday afternoon and evening as a cold front moves through the area. For the rest of the week, the forecast is calling for clear weather, with high temperatures in the high-60s to low-70s.

Did you hear the loud boom? Let us know where you live and what it sounded like in the comments to this article.