Storms Ravage Washington, D.C. and Arlington, Leaving Widespread Damage and Power Outages

The destructive storms that hit the D.C. area on Saturday were caused by a combination of extreme heat and humidity, a strong cold front, and a disturbance high in the atmosphere. These storms produced winds over 80 mph, toppling trees, damaging buildings and cars, and cutting power to over 200,000 customers. The storms were not tornadoes or a derecho, but rather localized downbursts, which are blasts of wind that originate in the clouds and slam into the ground. The storms formed rapidly due to the hot and humid environment, and were the worst in the area since the 2012 derecho.