Notable June severe weather outbreaks

 

Hail observed in southern Maryland (Courtesy: Kristen Leitch, June 2018)

June has the second highest average annual number of tornadoes (243) in the United States according to NOAA.  Severe weather is defined as a thunderstorm that has any of the following: hail 1” in diameter or greater, wind gusts of at least 58 mph, or a tornado.  The Mid-Atlantic Region has seen many severe weather outbreaks during the month of June.  Below are some of the more significant ones that have occurred locally.

2019: June 2 was an active weather day in the D.C. Metro Area with multiple reports of large hail.  Hail as large as 2” in diameter was reported in Damascus, Maryland, as well as 1” diameter hail at the White House.  Having widespread large hail reports in the D.C. Metro Area is rather uncommon compared to other parts of the country.

2016:  Several dozen severe weather reports occurred on June 21 and included large hail, high wind and a tornado.  An EF-0 tornado with estimated wind speeds of 80 mph traveled more than 12 miles in Howard County, Maryland, where minor damage was reported.  Hail nearly 2” in diameter fell at Dulles Airport and several other locations in the D.C. Metro Area.  Also, less than a week earlier, several cases of hail at least 2” in diameter occurred in north central Virginia, including the town of Bluemont in Loudoun County on June 16.

2015:  Hail 3” in diameter was reported on June 23 in the Baltimore suburb of Cockeysville, while 4” diameter hail was reported in Timonium, Maryland.  That nearly tied the Maryland state record for largest hail of 4.5”.  According to the National Weather Service, the last time 4” diameter hail was observed in Maryland was in 1999.

2013: A total of six EF-0 tornadoes developed on June 13 in the DC Metro Area.  Although they were all relatively weak, some occurred in heavily traveled parts of Montgomery and Charles counties in Maryland where minor damage was observed.  This was also one of the wettest June’s on record in the Nation’s Capital, with a monthly total of 9.97” of rain at National Airport.

2008:  One of the more active severe weather days on record in the Nation’s Capital occurred on June 4.  Unlike derecho day on June 29, 2012, that featured a singular destructive event, there were multiple rounds of severe weather on this date.  The first round was a powerful squall line that passed through the DC Metro Area in the mid-afternoon.  Later that evening, several supercell thunderstorms developed and some produced tornadoes.