NWS Investigating Tornado in Bristow, Manassas

Gainesville resident Scott Murphy took this photo Saturday night of a menacing-looking shelf cloud. While high wind accompanies this type of formation, it is not a tornado or a funnel cloud.

Following Saturday's weather event, the National Weather Service is sending a team to the area Monday night to investigate the damage.

The area felt the brunt of the remnants of Tropical Depression Bill, which brought heavy rains and potentially winds over 60 m.p.h.

According to a National Weather Service spokesperson, radar images and weather models forecasted conditions that were favorable for tornadoes, but the agency could not confirm that one formed locally.

Most likely, the cloud formation that most saw was a shelf cloud, he said, which often look menacing like a tornado or funnel cloud.

“As the shelf cloud passes, you feel an abrupt shift in wind direction and increased wind speed, followed within minutes by heavy rain or hail,” Jon Erdman of Weather Underground said. “Wind gusts once the shelf cloud has passed may be quite strong, causing downed trees, tree limbs and power outages.”

While formal observation sites indicated that wind speed topped out at 35-40 m.p.h. Weather Forecast Office of Baltimore/Washington Meteorologist in Charge Jim Lee said additional estimates will be made during their investigation.

"Wind estimates can be made by looking at the damage, such as broken tree trunks," he said.

NWS said they received numerous reports of damage from high winds associated with the weather event.

The baseball fields at Route 28 and Godwin Drive sustained extensive damage to the fields and the scoreboard.

Most residents took cover and sheltered in place during the storm, while some attempted to return their homes.

The grounds of Chapel Springs Church took the brunt of the high winds Saturday night from the remnants of Tropical Depression Bill. Photo by Gary Wise.

Chapel Springs Church Mission Pastor Doug Dreesen described the scene in the church’s parking lot as surreal. uk casinos not on gamstop

“I definitely did not see a tornado; my wife and I ran out to get to the car before the storm, but she was barely able to get the door shut,’ Dreesen said. “We pulled out and turned to go out the back way, when the winds kicked up violently and we saw six foot branches floating in the air.”

Branches and trees were down in the place where the couple had just parked, he said.

“Heading toward Bristow Road the winds were not as crazy as in the parking lot.”

The storm also led to some confusion at the Jimmy Buffet concert at Jiffy Lube Live that night. Although the concert was held as scheduled, some fans were reportedly turned away by the venue’s security personnel.