On this date in 1989, violent, “surprise” thunderstorms hit Northwest Washington and Bethesda, Maryland. Wind gusts topped 80 mph, thousands of trees were toppled and about 150,000 homes lost power. The front page of The Washington Post reported that the storm damage was the worst in the 93-year history of the local power utility Pepco.
“Decades-old trees, heavy with foliage, were uprooted and plowed down by the force of the winds,” The Post wrote. “Like hammers powered by some enormous hydraulic pump, they hit roofs, windows and cars. Structures buckled on impact.”
WUSA9 reported that the storms brought down 10 percent of the trees in Northwest Washington. The storm damage was caused by downburst winds, not a tornado.
Costs of the storm damage totaled in the tens of millions of dollars.
Here are other notables from this day:
- Average high: 85
- Average low: 67
- Record high: 98 (1994)
- Record low: 49 (1933)
- Record rainfall: 2.69 inches (1917)
