Thunderstorm Wind — District of Columbia, District of Columbia

2023-07-29 · near Georgetown, District of Columbia, District of Columbia

Event narrative

A wind gust of 73 knots (84 MPH) was measured by a mesonet at the George Washington University Mount Vernon Campus (1855W). Thousands of trees, branches, wires and poles blew down in Palisades, Wesley Heights, Cathedral Heights, Woodley Park, Observatory Circle, Foxhall Village, Adams Morgan, Cleveland Park, and DuPont Circle, including dozens onto cars, homes and businesses. Several apartment buildings lost their roof, including along Wisconsin Avenue Northwest; other homes particularly in the Wesley Heights neighborhood suffered roof and siding damage from the wind. A large tree blew down onto an SUV on Foxhall Road Northwest, injuring two occupants. The National Zoo was closed for a couple of days due to dozens of trees and large branches that blew down in the park. Massachusetts Avenue Northwest, Canal Road Northwest, Arizona Avenue Northwest, Chain Bridge Road Northwest, Lowell Street Northwest, and Loughboro Road Northwest remained closed for several days due to fallen trees, wires, and storm debris.

Wider weather episode

A strong cold front intersected a very hot, humid, and unstable airmass across the Mid-Atlantic shortly after peak heating. Aided by dynamics and moderately strong shear from an approaching upper-level trough, the front spawned bands of thunderstorms that produced considerable wind damage particularly in the I-95 corridor. Some areas saw the worst thunderstorm-driven wind speeds and damage since the derecho in June 2012, though the area affected by the highest magnitude of winds was not nearly as large.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (38.9174, -77.0898)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1108209. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.