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Storm season wakes up for launch week

After a quiet start to storm season, the DC area saw several active days in a row with warnings, damaging wind reports, and much-needed rain.

A gust front of storm clouds over buildings with plants and the Potomac River in the foreground.
Storm clouds over Rosslyn on Thursday. (Jeanette Cook/Flickr)

Until recent days, summer storms seemed to have gone missing. Then we officially launched on Tuesday. Almost immediately, the storms materialized.

Each day had its own flavor, but mesmerizing skies, warnings, and storm reports from dangerous weather were common late Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Below, a quick look at each day.

Wednesday

Showers and storms on Wednesday were not severe, but they marked a change in our ultra-dry June at that point. The area was treated to glowing rainbows after a few tenths of an inch of rain and gusts as high as 35 mph.

Thursday

A dramatic line of storms crossed the whole area Thursday evening from about 7 to 10 p.m.

DC-area storm event summary for June 11

Warnings and reports from 5:00 PM to 10:00 PM
PRELIM:Created Jun 13, 2026, 9:54 AM
Map by CapitalWeather.comSources: NWS · IEM · SPC
Sources: NWS · IEM · SPC
Warnings
Reports
Embed Code
TimeValueLocationNotes

It brought gusts to 60 and 61 mph at Reagan National and a location inside DC. A person was killed by a falling tree near Marlton, Maryland, not far from where a gust of 74 mph was recorded at Joint Base Andrews.

Friday

Friday's storms focused on an east-west line cutting through DC, in addition to hitting locations farther south. A round fired up in the afternoon and another moved by before a fiery sunset.

DC-area storm event summary for June 12

Warnings and reports from 3:00 PM to 10:00 PM
PRELIM:Created Jun 13, 2026, 9:56 AM
Map by CapitalWeather.comSources: NWS · IEM · SPC
Sources: NWS · IEM · SPC
Warnings
Reports
Embed Code
TimeValueLocationNotes

In addition to an early-evening gust of 67 mph at Dulles Airport, a later storm delivered several gusts of 80-plus mph around the bay, not far from Annapolis.

Next?

Strong to severe storms threaten again as soon as Sunday afternoon into evening. Another round may materialize by Thursday. Must be June.

Ian Livingston

Ian Livingston

Information lead with two decades as forecaster. Journalist covering global weather and climate.

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