An enigmatic object spotted moving rapidly across the skies of Washington DC has sparked swirling theories, leaving many in disbelief.
Earlier this week, an unusual streak or ‘orb’ was observed speeding over Washington DC on radar loops. This has led to a wave of speculation ranging from government weather manipulation to potential extraterrestrial visitors.
Kari Lake, a special advisor to the US Agency for Global Media, noticed this anomaly and shared her observation on Twitter, saying: “What is this zooming across the radar over Washington DC?”
She continued, “I just pulled up radar to check on the massive storm overhead and noticed an anomaly on the radar loop.”
The green dart-like object made its appearance as a severe storm was hitting the area, accompanied by heavy rain, wind, and lightning.
Lake further queried: “Anyone know what is shooting across the radar over Washington DC around 3:30pm?”
In response, numerous commenters shared a variety of wild theories, with some suggesting it was proof of the federal government influencing the weather.
One commenter simply stated, “Aliens.”
Another remarked that the discovery had caused people to ‘freak out,’ while a third noted: “Watch as what seems like a Laser Beam shoots across Washington DC Just as a major storm front is approaching! Almost as if they are FEEDING this storm or enhancing it!”
Despite the speculations, atmospheric scientist and meteorologist Matthew Cappuci clarified the situation. He explained: “This is the result of an obstruction from a structure east of @NWS_BaltWash’s Dulles-based radar. (This is common with water towers/cell towers blocking the radar beam.)
“That can cause a bit of the emitted radar beam to bounce back to radar/cause spurious signal.”
Matthew further stated that such signals are quite common, adding: “These type of artifacts are common. You also will see things like ground clutter, superrefraction, etc.; sometimes we can even spot birds, butterflies, planes, and meteors on weather radar!”
In an additional video, he acknowledged that the radar signal had stirred ‘conspiracy theories,’ but asserted that, from a scientific perspective, ‘it’s not a mystery’.
He explained that the National Weather Service in Sterling is located near runway 19 and uses a WSR 88D radar.
The radar operates at a half-degree elevation, ‘so just over the horizontal, but something is blocking a slither of that beam’.
Checking with the FAA, he identified several tall antennas in the path of the beam, with one particularly large one most likely responsible for the radar blip.
“It turns out to be a communication tower for the airport’s fire department,” he explained.
“On Google Maps, you can even see the shadow from the tower.”
“And so when the radar beam is shooting out energy that bounces off a thunderstorm, sometimes it bounces off the thunder storm, then to the tower, then back to the radar, plotting a weird erroneous signal.”
All clear now.