The National Weather Service confirmed Tuesday evening that an early morning tornado touched down for about a minute in the Lincolnia area. See photos.
WASHINGTON — The National Weather Service confirmed Tuesday evening that an early morning tornado touched down for about a minute in the Lincolnia, Virginia, area.
The EF-0 tornado lasted from about 5:54 a.m. to 5:55 a.m. Tuesday, starting south of a softball field at Thomas Jefferson High School.
It damaged several trees, fences, light poles and two sheds, and even lofted a shipping container over 100 yards as it moved across the field, the weather service said.
The tornado’s estimated maximum wind speed was 70 mph, and it had a path length of about 0.25 miles.
The weather service had said there was a tornado warning around Lake Barcroft and Lincolnia between 5:54 a.m. and 6:15 a.m.
WTOP’s Dave Dildine said this tornado is the first since August 2017, and marks the end of the longest tornado-less stretch in the D.C. region since 2010, when the first tornado didn’t occur until Aug. 10 of that year.
On Aug. 11, 2017, the weather service confirmed that a tornado with winds up to 75 mph traveled for a bit over a mile, downing several trees along John Marshall Highway in Fauquier County.