Washington, D.C. – A peculiar radar anomaly detected over Washington DC at approximately 3.30 PM on June 19, during a severe thunderstorm has ignited a firestorm of speculation, with theories ranging from extraterrestrial visitors to secret government aircraft. The anomaly, described as a bright, fast-moving linear streak, was first shared online by Kari Lake, a special advisor to the US agency for global media prompting widespread attention on platforms like X. Unlike typical weather patterns such as rain or hail, the streak stood out on radar loops, fueling public curiosity and skepticism.
Social media buzzed with humorous claims of government cover-ups and alien activity, with some users drawing parallels to the 1952 Washington, D.C. UFO flap, a historical event involving radar anomalies and pilot sightings. However, meteorologist Matthew Cappucci offered a grounded explanation. He attributed the streak to a radar artifact caused by a physical obstruction. Cappucci pointed to a communication tower used by Dulles Airport’s fire department, located east of the National Weather Service radar station near Sterling, Virginia, as the likely culprit. “Radar beams can bounce off structures like cell or water towers, creating false signals known as ground clutter or super refraction,” Cappucci explained. “Thunderstorms can amplify these artifacts, making them appear more dramatic.”
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) supported this assessment, noting that tall antennas in the radar’s path likely caused the blip. No official reports confirmed the presence of a physical object in the sky, and experts dismissed notions of weather modification or extraterrestrial involvement. This incident echoes the 1952 D.C. UFO flap where radar anomalies were later attributed to temperature inversions, though that event included visual sightings by pilots and air traffic controllers, unlike the current case.
