A rare and very intense hurricane-force storm swept through Glover Park around 4:30 pm today causing extensive damage from felled trees and sheared limbs which blocked roads, hit buildings and cars, downed power lines and knocked out power to many residences. The winds were measured at 80+ mph, which is Category 1 hurricane force, and though the most intense winds lasted for only about 5 minutes or less, the devastation across the city was wrought that quickly.
At least 7 large trees and dozens of large limbs fell down across roads and on houses, buildings and cars in Glover Park. Power went out for much of the neighborhood in the aftermath, though the majority were restored quickly, with some areas still out due to downed power lines. Fire trucks were called to various spots in the neighborhood, possibly due to the downed wires, but also possibly related to power outages resulting in emergency calls from buildings, and this further blocked routes in and out of the area.
While DC has been experiencing late afternoon thunderstorms nearly every day recently due to the heat and humidity (as if this were south Florida), the intensity of the wind today was quite rare. For a few minutes, it seemed as if a tornado had touched down, but none was detected in the area. One neighbor mentioned that broken limbs were falling on their 8th floor balcony. Luckily, no injuries have been reported so far, though the property damage likely will be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars in our neighborhood alone. Luckily tomorrow is a Sunday, so leave the car at home and go get brunch in Glover Park - here's a list!
More pics of downed trees:
Comments