You Don’t Have to be in Kansas, Anymore

The tornado that touched down this past Friday near Cape Charles, Virginia, makes four consecutive summers that the Mid-Atlantic Region has been hit.  Although outside of “Tornado Alley” (in the central United States where the most tornadoes form), the Mid-Atlantic Region has also been known to see tornadoes on occasion.  According to the National Weather Service, they are most common in this part of the country during the summer months.

The two most conducive weather patterns for tornado formation are when a cold front pushes through the region or when a decaying tropical storm affects the region.  The embedded thunderstorms within the larger rotation of the tropical system often cause relatively weak, short lived tornadoes.  The busiest months of the Atlantic Ocean’s hurricane season are August – October, so Washingtonians will have to wait and see if any tropical systems spawn tornadoes in our region. 
 

The National Climatic Data Center says Maryland averages 10 tornadoes and Virginia averages 18 annually.  Back on June 13, 2013, one of six tornadoes that formed in Maryland and Virginia passed through central Montgomery County, affecting much of Rockville.  They were all relatively weak tornadoes that primarily caused downed trees and power lines.  In contrast, the tornado that formed July 24, 2014 was an EF-1 tornado that struck near a campground on the Southern portion of the Delmarva Peninsula. Sadly, it caused two fatalities and a few dozen injuries.

Tornado intensity is measured on the Enhanced Fujita Scale with rankings from EF-0 (winds 65-85 mph) and EF-1 (86-110 mph), all the way to an EF-5 (winds over 200 mph).  Residents should pay attention to their local meteorologists on days when thunderstorms are forecast.  That way they’ll have the maximum warning when severe weather watches and warnings are issued so they can seek shelter.