This is the story of the day for Thursday as storms came through the region dumping up to golfball size hail.  This picture was taken in Centreville from a storm that came through there last weekend.  I was on the radio all afternoon during the peak of the storms, which all had decent hail cores and were the reason for the multiple warnigns that came out throughout the day.

Then there is this picture, taken last Saturday from Elkton, VA, where an EF-0 tornado touched down.  This was taken by Kelly Greene around 3pm as they had a group out kayaking that afternoon.  She said she was terrified and were lucky they were still alive as they hid behind a bail of hay.  I remember a tornado warning coming out that afternoon, but it was to the south of the viewing and listening area of ABC 7 and WTOP so I didn't say much about it.  This was actually confirmed after the National Weather Service in Sterling, VA sent out a surveying team.  Here is the official damage survey:

...STORM SURVEY OF THE ELKTON VIRGINIA TORNADO...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SURVEYED ELKTON VIRGINIA IN EASTERN
ROCKINGHAM COUNTY IN THE CENTRAL SHENANDOAH VALLEY. THE SURVEY WAS
CONDUCTED ON SUNDAY AFTERNOON FOR THE STORM WHICH OCCURRED
SATURDAY MID AFTERNOON.

AT ABOUT 3:06 PM A SMALL EF-0 TORNADO BRIEFLY TOUCHED DOWN IN THE
SOUTHWEST PART OF ELKTON. TOUCHDOWN WAS ON THE BANKS OF THE SOUTH
FORK OF THE SHENANDOAH RIVER ALONG PARK AVENUE. IT SNAPPED AND
UPROOTED ABOUT A DOZEN LARGE HARDWOOD TREES IN VARIOUS DIRECTIONS
AS IT TRAVELED WEST TO EAST. IT CROSSED 4TH STREET AND THEN
LIFTED SHORTLY AFTER IT CROSSED SOUTH 5TH STREET. AN EYEWITNESS IN
THE DAMAGED AREA REPORTED A SWIRLING WIND IN THE TREES AS THE
STORM MOVED THROUGH. ANOTHER EYEWITNESS ALSO REPORTED A DESCENDING
FUNNEL CLOUD FROM A VANTAGE POINT 2 MILES SOUTHWEST OF ELKTON. THE
PATH WIDTH WAS ABOUT 70 YARDS. THE PATH LENGTH WAS ABOUT 1/4 MILE.

SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNINGS WERE ISSUED FOR ROCKINGHAM COUNTY AT
2:22 AND AGAIN AT 2:59 SATURDAY AFTERNOON. A TORNADO WARNING WAS
ISSUED FOR SOUTHEASTERN ROCKINGHAM COUNTY INCLUDING THE ELKTON
AREA AND CENTRAL GREENE COUNTY FROM 3:06 PM UNTIL 3:45 PM.

BETWEEN 3 AND 3:15 PM...THE PARENT STORM HIT THE ENTIRE TOWN OF
ELKTON WITH A 50 TO 70 MPH WIND GUST. DAMAGE WAS WIDESPREAD IN THE
TOWN. LARGE TREES WERE UPROOTED IN SEVERAL PLACES...NUMEROUS SMALL
TREES AND LARGER BRANCHES WERE DOWNED... AND SMALL BRANCHES AND
LEAF LITTER PRESENT NEARLY EVERYWHERE. HAIL UP TO AN INCH IN
DIAMETER WAS REPORTED ALL ACROSS TOWN.

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WOULD LIKE TO THANK ELKTON FIRE AND
POLICE... ROCKINGHAM COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT... AND THE
CITIZENS OF ELKTON FOR THEIR ASSISTANCE.

So then there was the severe weather on Thursday, all due to an upper-level disturbance passing through.  Storms started going a bit earlier than I anticipated, popping up around noon.  Wind damage was the primary offender of the day with wind gusts to 64 mph up in Frederick, and 60 mph in the District.  Damage reported was anything from powerlines down, to large hail, to a roof blown off in the District.  Severe weather was noted up and down the eastern seaboard that day, as even my mother called and asked her why I didn't warn her of the storms in southern South Carolina!  I looked at a storm report from her area and they listed winds gusting up to 58 mph from 4:15pm to 4:45pm.  Pretty crazy, as she told me trees were down everywhere.  So back to the DC area, how about the pile up of hail in this persons back yard...

This is multiple INCHES of hail on Cindy Alberts deck in Adamstown, MD.  She said she thought a tornado may have gone through as well.  I am not too sure about that, but a storm did come through with a little bit of shear so it is not completely out of the question.  Yesterday's storms mainly included damaging straight-lined winds.

So how about our upcoming stretch of weather.  That can easily be summed up in one word...NICE.  Saturday is going to be unbelievably nice for August, with highs in the lower 80s, low levels of humidity, and sunny skies.  Sunday appears to continue the pattern, up until about 4pm in the afternoon.  A cold front will approach the region in the afternoon hours and give the chance for showers and thunderstorms.  At this time, severe weather does not look all that likely, but I would not rule it out completely as all that is needed is penny sized hail or wind gusts to 58 mph.  We'll keep you posted throughout the weekend.

Also, if you want to check out our Storm Chaser, it is parked at the Arlington County Fair off 2nd Street near Route 50 at the entrance of the Thomas Jefferson Community Center.