WASHINGTON (7News) — A severe thunderstorm watch has been issued for the Washington, D.C., area until 10 p.m. The watch includes all areas inside and around the beltway as conditions become increasingly favorable for strong to severe thunderstorms.
The entire Washington region, including communities inside and surrounding the Capital Beltway, is already under an Enhanced Risk for severe weather, level 3 of 5, from the Storm Prediction Center (SPC).
Both supercells and organized clusters of storms are possible. Damaging wind gusts are the primary threat, but large hail and a small, weak-end tornado cannot be ruled out. A few storms could produce more concentrated swaths of wind damage, including downed trees, power lines and possible power outages.
Torrential rainfall may also produce localized flash flooding, especially where storms merge or repeatedly cross the same communities.
Numerous showers and thunderstorms may continue through the evening as temperatures fall through the 80s. Some storms could remain severe, particularly during the early evening, with damaging winds continuing to be the greatest concern.
A second round of storms could affect portions of the region later in the evening as stronger atmospheric energy moves overhead. However, the coverage and exact placement of that activity remain uncertain. Storms may gradually become more focused south of Washington later tonight…