JUST IN: Arlington Under Tornado Watch Today.
(Updated at noon) The remnants of Tropical Storm Fred may cause more than just heavy rain today.
Arlington and most of the D.C. area are now under a Tornado Watch. The watch is in effect until 8 p.m.
The area is also under a Flash Flood Watch through 10 p.m. tonight.
Forecasters say conditions are favorable for the formation of tornadoes, though any such storms should be isolated. Severe thunderstorms are also possible.
Arlington is no stranger to tornados, though twisters are a relatively uncommon occurrence.
Last month an EF-1 tornado caused damage across several neighborhoods near Lee Highway. In April 2017, an EF-0 tornado chopped trees in half at Army Navy Country Club and caused some damage at the Macy’s in Pentagon City. Before that, a long-lived EF-1 twister struck Arlington, Alexandria, Fairfax County, and D.C. in 2001.
More from the National Weather Service:
A FLASH FLOOD WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT THROUGH 10 PM FOR AREAS ALONG THE INTERSTATE 95 CORRIDOR. ISOLATED INSTANCES OF FLASH FLOODING ARE POSSIBLE AS TROPICAL MOISTURE OVERSPREADS THE REGION.
A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 8 PM. ISOLATED TORNADOES AND DAMAGING THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS ARE THE THREATS.
ALSO, YOU CAN READ:
Flash flood warning issued for Columbus area, I-270 closed
For the second day in a row
, a vast expanse of the East Coast faced a tornado threat on Wednesday in the wake of Tropical Depression Fred, with more than 15 million people in the Mid-Atlantic under a tornado watch until 8 p.m. Eastern time, the National Weather Service said.
The watch extended to parts of four states Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, and included Washington, D.C.
The Weather Service said that isolated wind gusts of up to 70 miles per hour were possible in the region.
The Weather Service said that isolated wind gusts of up to 70 miles per hour were possible in the region, in addition to marble-size hail.
On Tuesday night, the Weather Service issued at least 10 tornado warnings in North and South Carolina, meaning that a tornado had been spotted or picked up on radar. Tornadoes were reported on Tuesday in Edgefield, S.C., and in Iredell County, N.C., about 50 miles north of Charlotte.
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There were no immediate reports of injuries associated with those tornadoes, but the death of a Florida man on Monday was attributed to Fred. The News-Herald of Panama City, Fla., reported that the man lost control of his car while driving through floodwater. Other parts of the Southeast also experienced heavy flooding in the storm’s wake.
In Haywood County, N.C., which is west of Asheville, emergency responders said on Wednesday that at least 30 people remained unaccounted for after flash flooding in the area on Tuesday.
Greg Christopher, the county’s sheriff, urged residents to stay home while a search continued.
“Please do not drive through standing water, and please stay out of the affected communities,” he said.
MORE:
Flash flood warning issued for Columbus area, I-270 closed
