Thursday, December 29, 2011

How a Tornado saved Washington D.C.

As you are likely well aware, there have been several severe Tornado outbreaks in recent years including the tornadoes that came through our area at DIT.

So, you might say that 'tornadoes are on our mind'.

Some places seem to be more prone to tornadoes than others while in other areas of the country tornadoes are rather rare.

For instance, how often have you heard about tornadoes occurring in Washington, D.C. ?

Not often, you say.  And you are correct.

In fact, according to Dr. Forbes, the severe weather expert at the Weather Channel, there have only been 9 tornadoes in Washington D.C. since 1814.  

You can view his very interesting chart depicting when these tornadoes occurred by CLICKING HERE.

Wow. Only 9.  Now that IS rare.

But what is even more interesting is that one of those tornadoes, the one that occurred in August of 1814, actually saved Washington D.C.

Saved it?  How can a tornado save something?

Wellllll, glad you asked. 

A friend of DIT called tonight and told us about a very interesting article on the Smithsonian.com website that explains what happened.

We think you will be excited and interested in finding out how the tornado of 1814 actually saved Washington DC. HERE'S THE LINK