Tornado Warning Lifted For Arlington, DC, PG County

The all-clear has been given after Arlington, Va.; Washington, D.C.; and Prince George's County, Md. were suddenly included in a tornado warning issued by the National Weather Service on Thursday afternoon.

NWS issued the warning at around 3:45 p.m. and set it to expire about a half hour later. A tornado warning indicates meteorologist can see rotation indicative of a tornado in the radar signature.

Authorities urged residents to immediately head inside, avoid windows, and seek the lowest point possible.

While it's not immediately clear if a tornado did touch down, numerous reports of damaged trees trickled in from across the D.C. region, and there were reports of several wind gusts of around 70 miles per hour at Reagan National Airport. By comparison, an EF-0 tornado, the weakest category, produces wind speeds of 65 to 85 miles per hour.

Took this pretty sweet time-lapse from my place on Lee Highway in Arlington. Wicked storm!! Hint of rotation to boot. @capitalweather pic.twitter.com/BrykYMbFmt
— Gregorio (@Agent_Greg) May 23, 2019

Final rotational track through Washington, DC during Tornado Warning. @capitalweather pic.twitter.com/95eH1823qB
— Jesse Ferrell (AccuWeather) (@WeatherMatrix) May 23, 2019

Tornado Warning including Washington DC, Arlington VA, Hyattsville MD until 4:15 PM EDT pic.twitter.com/HRYRLy2VUu
— NWS DC/Baltimore (@NWS_BaltWash) May 23, 2019