6/20/09 REPORTS: VA

[David Dildine]

I know some people like reports outside tornado alley...

This was a pretty uneventful tornado watch by storm report numbers but there were a few rounds of severe weather across the tidewater and lower southern MD. A few friends and I were boating in the Chesapeake near the mouth of the Rappahannock River. The WX radio went off with special marine warnings and a tornado warning for the Northern Neck of VA. As the storm was stepping off Northumberland and Lancaster Counties into the western part of the bay, we saw a funnel (possibly tornado) spindle down from about 10 miles away.

I stupidly had my SLR set on 1600 ISO and didn't realize it. But it was pretty cool seeing a rotating storm in VA without tree interference and being able to circumnavigate the storm road-free at any coordinate. Going back to radar imagery, there was definitely a weak couplet for about six scans.

Picture was shot offshore at about 37.599N 76.283W looking north.

 

[Jason Foster]

A good thing you were not way further north in The Bay, as either one of the two tornadoes reported went over The Bay. Saw some video of it. Although capturing a nado while on a boat would be very cool.

Add: Here's a shot of that cell that went through S. MD, when it was initializing in Fairfax County, VA, from my view in Gaithersburg, MD (Montgomery County).

I was too tired so I didn't chase, but did grab this and a few more boring photos.
More add: Like this shots: