Tornadoes threaten millions in major commuter zone as Americans are warned to find shelter
A sprawling tornado threat has put millions of Americans on alert Thursday as dangerous thunderstorms are barreling over a large stretch of the Mid-Atlantic.
The National Weather Service issued a Tornado Watch for parts of Maryland, Virginia, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware, along with Washington DC.
The watch is set to remain in force until 10pm ET on Thursday.
The zone stretches through the Washington-Baltimore-Philadelphia corridor and includes communities surrounding Chesapeake Bay, Delaware Bay and the lower Delaware River.
Residents should keep emergency notifications turned on, monitor local forecasts and identify the safest room in their home before storms arrive.
A tornado watch means atmospheric conditions are favorable for tornadoes, but it does not mean a twister has been confirmed.
If a tornado warning is issued, people should move immediately to a basement, storm shelter or small interior room on the lowest floor, away from windows.
Anyone in a mobile home, vehicle or outdoors should plan now how to reach a sturdy building and should not wait until a storm is overhead.
The National Weather Service issued a Tornado Watch for parts of Maryland, Virginia, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware, along with Washington DC. Above is a tornado in new Jersey last month
The NWS alert encompasses 39 counties, seven independent cities and Washington, DC, but it does not place every part of the five states under the watch.
Maryland has the largest area affected, with 19 counties included: Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Calvert, Caroline, Carroll, Cecil, Charles, Dorchester, Harford, Howard, Kent, Montgomery, Prince George’s, Queen Anne’s, Somerset, St. Mary’s, Talbot, Wicomico and Worcester.
Baltimore City, which is legally separate from Baltimore County, is also inside the watch area.
The Maryland zone stretches from the Washington suburbs and Baltimore region to Southern Maryland and across the Eastern Shore, putting communities on both sides of Chesapeake Bay at risk.
In Virginia, the watch covers Arlington, Fairfax, King George, Prince William and Stafford counties.
It also includes the independent cities of Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Fredericksburg, Manassas and Manassas Park, bringing the threat into the densely populated northern Virginia suburbs and communities along the Interstate 95 corridor.
Five southeastern Pennsylvania counties are included: Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia.
The New Jersey portion covers Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester and Salem counties, extending from the Philadelphia suburbs to the Jersey Shore.
The watch is set to remain in force until 10pm ET on Thursday
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All three Delaware counties, New Castle, Kent and Sussex, are under the watch, while Washington, DC, is covered in its entirety.
The alert also extends far beyond land, covering 21 coastal and tidal water zones where boaters could face rapidly deteriorating conditions.
Those waters include both the northern and southern sections of Delaware Bay, plus the coastline from Little Egg Inlet and Great Egg Inlet in New Jersey south past Cape May and Cape Henlopen to Fenwick Island, Delaware, and Chincoteague, Virginia.
Large sections of Chesapeake Bay are included from north of Pooles Island to Sandy Point, North Beach, Drum Point and Smith Point.
The watch also encompasses the tidal Potomac River from Key Bridge to Indian Head, Cobb Island and Smith Point, along with the Patapsco River and Baltimore Harbor.
Other affected waterways include the Chester River to Queenstown, Eastern Bay, the Choptank and Little Choptank rivers, the Patuxent River to Broomes Island, Tangier Sound and waters surrounding Bloodsworth Island.
The National Weather Service said scattered severe thunderstorms and excessive rainfall were possible across the Mid-Atlantic on Thursday, creating risks from damaging winds and isolated flash flooding in addition to possible tornadoes.
A watch is designed to give people time to prepare; a warning is the signal to act because a tornado has been spotted or indicated by radar.
Residents should charge their phones, ensure emergency alerts are enabled and bring loose outdoor items inside if it is safe to do so.
Families should select a windowless interior room, basement or storm shelter and place shoes, helmets, flashlights and pet supplies there before storms intensify.
Mobile-home residents should arrange to reach a substantial building before the worst weather arrives because manufactured homes offer little protection from tornado-force winds.
The NWS advises people to seek sturdy shelter rather than remain inside a mobile home or vehicle during a tornado warning.
The outline was sent to NWS forecast offices serving Baltimore and Washington, Wakefield, Virginia, and Philadelphia and Mount Holly, New Jersey, which can issue more targeted warnings as individual storms develop.
