Weather 'Bomb' Explodes Over Reston, Herndon (ICYMI)

Editor's note: This article was originally posted earlier this week.

RESTON/HERNDON, VA -- Reston and Herndon got quite the pounding on Monday from a surprise storm that popped up in the early evening. And an amazing video of the radar signature shows an outflow that makes the storm look like a bomb.

The Washington Post's Capital Weather Gang first posted video on Twitter of the radar imagery when a storm suddenly formed over our area.

It was a short-lived storm, but a powerful one.

558p: Heavy storm erupts over Reston in cool wake (outflow boundary) from earlier Beltway storm. Shouldn’t last long pic.twitter.com/h0DixitUxK
— Capital Weather Gang (@capitalweather) August 6, 2018

The storm created an incredible anvil-shaped cloud towering high over Reston and Herndon -- a terrifying sight to be sure.

Enormous anvil on the storm over Reston as seen from Ballston pic.twitter.com/hMQDbMcwsK
— TerpWeather (@TerpWeather) August 6, 2018

And this video is the most amazing of all: an outflow signature from two storm cells that make it looks like an exploding bomb.

Like a bomb! Amazing outflow signature from two storm cells in Northern Va. Outflow not dangerous, just a breeze... pic.twitter.com/C2OlhcJUFN
— Capital Weather Gang (@capitalweather) August 6, 2018

(Photo by Michael Dodge/Getty Images)