WASHINGTON — April 6 was a big day for tornadoes in the area, and the National Weather Service confirmed on Wednesday that it was an even bigger day than previously thought.
The weather service had already confirmed that three tornadoes had touched down in the area April 6. On Wednesday, it confirmed four more, including three in Fauquier County, for a total of seven.
The four newly confirmed tornadoes:
- One tornado hit north of Unionville, in Orange County, Virginia, touching down for about four minutes and traveling about 2.5 miles at about 12:30 p.m. Winds reached 85 mph, with the worst damage coming along US Route 522, near Ida Mae Lane. Trees were snapped and uprooted, with a couple of trees falling on buildings and some pieces of roofing and siding being blown nearly a half-mile away.
- Another tornado struck southwest of Warrenton, in Fauquier County, Virginia, just before 1 p.m., blowing down and snapping trees north of Harts Mill Road with winds reaching about 80 mph. The tornado was part of a larger storm, with straight-line winds doing even more damage.
- A tornado with winds estimated at 85 mph touched down north of Airlie, also in Fauquier County, for about six minutes, traveling nearly 6 miles, a little after 1 p.m. Winds snapped several trees on Airlie Road between Artillery Road and The Rainforest Trust, along Blantyre Road and up to Interstate 66.
- Another tornado touched down near New Baltimore, in Fauquier County, Virginia, a little after 1 p.m. Several trees were snapped or uprooted, and some fell on vehicles. Winds reached 85 mph and the tornado lasted about two minutes.
The National Weather Service also released a few new details about the three tornadoes that were already known:
- The tornado that plowed a path from Herndon at Sterling Park, Virginia, blew down trees beginning between the Dulles Greene and Capstone apartment complexes, in Herndon, a little after 1:30 p.m., before lifting off around Sterling Road and Herndon Parkway, then touching back down near Crestview Drive and Builders Road, damaging more trees. Winds reached 70 mph.
- The tornado that began at the Army-Navy Country Club, in Arlington County, damaged the Pentagon Parking Lot, uprooted cherry trees at the Tidal Basin and shredded the roof of St. Aloysius Church in D.C., began at about 1:40 p.m. and followed a four and a half-mile path. Its winds reached 70 mph and one person suffered minor injuries when part of a storefront fell on a car in Crystal City.
The following video captures the storm moving over the Tidal Basin before uprooting several trees. Courtesy: National Park Service
- Another tornado, which started on Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling and traveled to the Anacostia section of D.C. in about two minutes, snapped and uprooted trees and took the roof off an apartment complex on Stanton Road in Southeast at about 1:40 p.m. Winds reached 75 mph and someone was injured by flying drywall.
The latter two were the first tornadoes to touch down in the District in more than 15 years.
