This is a prime example of why cars are not good places to be during a severe weather event...


You can see more pictures of the damage and the event here on our picture blog category here.

It was just thirteen days after the September 11th terrorist attack on America when the Emergency Action Notification System sounded in Washington D.C. on this date in 2001. Many people immediately thought the alert was for another attack, but it was for a tornado warning. The dramatic severe weather statement from the National Weather Service in Sterling VA was that a tornado had been sighted near the Pentagon.

WRC-TV Meteorologist Bob Ryan was on the air showing dramatic radar images of the tornadic supercell crossing the District of Columbia. It was the first tornado in the District since the 1920s.
Fortunately, the Pentagon tornado was only an F1, but it took a very visble 15 mile long path, passing near the Pentagon, the Monuments, the Smithsonian the Capitol, and crossing the 14th street bridge. Cars had their windows blown out on I-395.

Shortly after the Pentagon tornado lifted, a stronger F3 tornado touched down and carved a 18 mile path into Maryland, cutting directly across the University of Maryland campus in College Park. 2 students were killed in their car after having been warned to leave before the storm hit. The warning process worked well, with early forecasts, statement, watches and warnings all issued well in advance of the storm.

An Urban and Small Sream Flood Advisory has been issued for Marion and Winston Counties.

Radar indicates as much as 2 to 3 inches of rain has fallen in the past couple of hours over Marion County.

Heavy rain continues over both counties.

The alert may be upgraded to a Flash Flood Warning in time.

The NWS Birmingham reports that a Flash Flood Watch may be necessary soon...

Be alert to possible flooding conditions if you experience heavy rain in your area overnight...

The NWS indicates that the severe thunderstorm watch that had been in effect for NW Alabama was allowed to expire at 8 p.m. CDT...

The threat of severe weather continues to lessen as thunderstorms diminish in overall intensity over Northwest Alabama and North Mississippi tonight.

But one thing that is not diminishing is the heavy rain. It may actually be intensifying. And the storms over Northwest Alabama are training over the same locations as the line slows its forward progress.

At 8:00 p.m., thunderstorms with heavy rain cover much of Marion County and western Winston County. J.B. reports that he can see the lightning all the way to here in Trussville. EMA Director Matt McCracken reports that it is really coming down in Hamilton and the ABC3340 Skycam really confirms that with visibility nearly zero. Matt warns that some of their spots that are prone to flood during extremely heavy rain may do so tonight.

Flooding may become more of a problem as we go through the nighttime if the line continues to move slowly. The activity will be supported through the night by a very moist southern inflow.

A strong storm is over northern Lamar County northeast of Vernon. It is moving NE into NW Fayette County.

The activity extends northeast to Madison County and well back into Mississippi.

The storms and heavy rain will continue to slowly overspread much of North and Central Alabama overnight.

Marion County continues to get pounded tonight by another wave of storms. They cover much of the county at 7:15.

Our skywatcher Tim Rye in Hamilton reports heavy rain and wind picking up in downtown.

The storms contain torrential rains, gusty winds and powerful lightning. Stay in safe shelter as they pass. Also reports real intense lightning to the north of Hamilton and increasing thunder.

Additional strong storms are back over Lee and Itawamba Counties of NE Mississippi. They are moving ENE toward Franklin County and northwest Marion County.

The good news is that the storms appear to be on a slow weakening trend. This should continue as we get further away from the heating of the day and the atmosphere slowly stabilizes.

A severe thunderstorm watch continues for Marion and 6 other West Alabama counties until 8 p.m.

Thunderstorms are quite intense over Marion County as two outflow boundaries converge ahead of the main line of thunderstorm which has edged into Northwest Alabama.

The activity over Marion County contains torrential rain and very heavy lightning. The storms are also capable of strong gusty winds.

The activity has pushed mainly north of US 278 and 78 as well as Hamilton. It is moving fairly quickly to the north and northeast.

A severe thunderstorm watch remains in effect until 8 p.m. for six counties in Northwest Alabama.

The NWS has released its preliminary survey on the Blount County tornadoes last evening...

000
NOUS44 KBMX 232119 RRA
PNSBMX
ALZ011>015-017>050-240000-

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
415 PM CDT SAT SEP 23 2006

...THREE TORNADO DAMAGE PATHS IDENTIFIED IN BLOUNT COUNTY...

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE METEOROLOGISTS ARE IN BLOUNT COUNTY AND
HAVE FOUND THREE DISTINCT TORNADO DAMAGE PATHS. PRELIMINARY
ESTIMATES INDICATE ALL OF THE TORNADOES PRODUCED F2 DAMAGE. F2
TORNADOES ARE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING WINDS OF 113 TO 157 MILES AN HOUR.

ONEONTA TORNADO...THIS TORNADO STARTED JUST SOUTHWEST OF THE ALLGOOD
COMMUNITY NORTH OF HIGHWAY 75. THE TORNADO TRACKED NORTHEASTWARD AND
ENDED IN ONEONTA NEAR THE BLOUNT COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY
BUILDING. NUMEROUS TREES AND POWER LINES WERE BLOWN DOWN ALONG THE
PATH. SEVERAL HOMES AND OUT-BUILDINGS SUSTAINED SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE.
THE TORNADO REMAINED NORTH OF HIGHWAY 75 ITS ENTIRE PATH. THE
TORNADO DAMAGE PATH WAS APPROXIMATELY 4.1 MILES LONG AND 200 YARDS
WIDE AT ITS WIDEST POINT.

LOCUST FORK TORNADO...THIS TORNADO BRIEFLY TOUCHED DOWN ALONG SPUNKY
HOLLOW ROAD AND AZZILEE CIRCLE...JUST SOUTH OF LOCUST FORK. THIS
TORNADO DAMAGE PATH WAS APPROXIMATELY ONE QUARTER OF A MILE LONG AND
75 YARDS WIDE AT ITS WIDEST POINT. A FEW VERY LARGE AND OLD TREES
WERE BLOWN DOWN ALONG THE PATH. A FEW HOMES ALSO SUSTAINED
SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE.

LEHIGH TORNADO...THIS TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN NEAR THE LEHIGH
COMMUNITY...NORTHWEST OF HIGHWAY 79. THIS LOCATION IS BETWEEN LOCUST
FORK AND THE BLOUNT JEFFERSON COUNTY LINE. THE TORNADO DAMAGE PATH
WAS APPROXIMATELY 1.3 MILES LONG AND 200 YARDS WIDE AT ITS WIDEST
POINT. NUMEROUS TREES WERE KNOCKED DOWN ALONG THE PATH AND SEVERAL
STRUCTURES WERE DAMAGED.

ADDITIONAL DETAILS OF THE TORNADO EVENTS WILL BE ADDED WHEN NEW
INFORMATION IS OBTAINED.

$$

A long line of thunderstorms extends from Ohio down through Kentucky... Tennessee... Northwest Alabama... northern Mississippi and back into southeastern Arkansas... northernwestern Louisiana and into Texas. This front is ahead of a strong cold front.

The line is only slowly progressing eastward.

Thunderstorms continue over Northwest Alabama...over Lauderdale... Colbert and now Franklin Counties. Activity over Northeast Mississippi continues to be quite strong. Storms are alos developing over Lamar and Marion Counties. These will intensify over the next few minutes. Two outflow boundaries are converging from earlier storms over West Alabama and the present storms over Northeast Mississippi.

The line will continue to push into Northwest Alabama, but will gradually lose intensity. Damaging winds will be the main threat, and even that threat will be isolated.

The Storm Prediction Center reports that they will likely NOT issue a new watch as the line moves out of the current watch area.

Storms have picked up in intensity over the Northwest part of Alabama...

They are over Lauderdale... Colbert... Franklin and Marion Counties. Severe thunderstorm warnings are in effect for Lauderdale and Colbert Counties.

The band of storms that moved through the Birmingham area is moving out of Northeast Jefferson County into St. Clair and Talladega Counties. We had a brief burst of rain here in Trussville. The lightning had calmed considerably before the heavy rain began. Activity with this storm complex extends over into northern Clay County and up into Calhoun County.

Activity over the rest of the state has quieted considerably.

A broken line of thunderstorms is marching northeastward across Jefferson and Shelby Counties this afternoon. It extends from Bessemer to Helena and Pelham then curves around to Calera.

It continues on down to near Clanton in Chilton County.

Additional storms have formed over Blount County near Oneonta.

Storms are picking up over Northwest Alabama over Franklin, Marion and northern Lamar Counties.

None of the storms are especially strong at this time, but the stronger ones contain very heavy rain and dangerous lightning.

A severe thunderstorm watch continues from six counties over extreme western Alabama.