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Thursday storms brought brief flooding, damaging winds, hail and power outages to DC region

Thousands were left without electricity in the D.C. region on Thursday after strong thunderstorms downed trees, damaged power lines and stranded commuters in floodwaters. Some residents were still picking up the pieces Thursday evening after a cluster of storms brought quarter-size hail and damaging winds through the D.C. and Baltimore suburbs. Montgomery and Loudoun counties perhaps bore the brunt of Thursday’s severe weather: Radar-estimated rainfall rates of up to 2 inches per hour led to flash flooding on roadways near Bethesda. Hail over an inch in diameter fell around Leesburg, where crews were still working to unblock parts of Va. Route 7 during evening commute.



[connatix_element_embed script_id=124f7814e9e043d8a033384e62ac7d4a player_id=9be9c680-c459-4acb-af21-654a2ccca384 video_id=085456f4-b5b6-4653-b10d-541376c1e752] Utility crews responded to multiple downed wires in the Silver Spring and Potomac areas of Montgomery County. Trees fell on power lines and the front porch of home in Northwest D.C.’s Petworth neighborhood; no injuries were reported. PEPCO was aware of 2,100 customers under outages in Montgomery County as of 7 p.m. Thursday. Across the Potomac, Virginia’s Dominion Energy reported nearly 1,700 homes and business without power in Loudoun County, with 1,100 of its Fairfax County customers also in the dark. Rising water stranded vehicles on Goldsboro Road between River Road and Massachusetts Avenue near Bethesda, Montgomery County Fire and Rescue spokesman Pete Piringer said. All their occupants moved to safety and none were injured.

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Forecast:

  • Thursday overnight: Lingering rain tapering off after midnight. Becoming cooler and less humid. Lows: mid 50s to mid 60s.
  • Friday: Becoming mostly sunny, cooler and less humid. Highs in the lower 80s.
  • Saturday: Sunny and pleasant with low humidity. Highs around 80.
  • Sunday: Mostly sunny. Highs in the lower 80s.

Current conditions:


Power outages:

Hot, humid week ahead for DC area with severe storm risk

A dangerous heat wave will grip the D.C. area through Thursday, with highs in the mid to upper 90s and heat index values between 100 and 105. Hot and humid conditions are expected through Thursday, according to the National Weather Service, which said to expect daily thunderstorm chances and a risk of severe thunderstorms. 7News Meteorologist Eileen Whelan told WTOP that most of Tuesday will stay dry, but a few late-day thunderstorms are possible, especially north and east of D.C. as storms drift south from Pennsylvania. Any storm could produce damaging wind gusts and hail, but Whelan reiterated "storm chances are low" on Tuesday. Due to a lack of air conditioning, Parkdale High School in Riverdale, Maryland, closed early at 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Prince George's County Public Schools said in a social media post.
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