Storm rolls through Fairfax County, knocking out trees and power

After failing to materialize yesterday, stormy weather showed up in force around the D.C. region this afternoon (Tuesday).

A Severe Thunderstorm Warning was issued for Fairfax County and the rest of the area for around 2:11-3 p.m. The National Weather Service reported that the east-moving storm had reached the Oakton and Vienna area around 2:09 p.m., bringing 60-mph wind gusts and hail the size of quarters, according to Fairfax County.

“Damaging winds will cause some trees and large branches to fall,” the county’s emergency information blog said. “This could injure those outdoors, as well as damage homes and vehicles. Roadways may become blocked by downed trees. Localized power outages are possible. Unsecured light objects may become projectiles.”

As of 3 p.m., about 2,826 people in Fairfax County and Fairfax City have lost power, according to Dominion Energy.

Per the utility company’s outage map, the largest individual outages appear to be along Fairfax Blvd, where 914 customers are without power, and in Great Falls, where 509 customers are affected.

The Fairfax outage stems from an out circuit and is expected to be restored between 5-8 p.m. Dominion estimates a restoration time of 6-9 p.m. for the Great Falls outage, which is directly attributed to the storm.

In Tysons, downed trees were reportedly blocking the ramp from eastbound Route 7 (Leesburg Pike) to northbound Route 123 (Chain Bridge Road), according to the NWS.

Hail was confirmed in Reston by resident Robyn Matthews, but the storm moved relatively quickly, prompting the NWS to let the warning expire on time at 3 p.m.

“The storm which prompted the warning has weakened below severe limits, and no longer poses an immediate threat to life or property,” a 2:51 p.m. update said. “Therefore, the warning will be allowed to expire. However gusty winds and heavy rain are still possible with this thunderstorm.”

Severe Thunderstorm Warning including Washington DC, Arlington VA and Alexandria VA until 3:00 PM EDT pic.twitter.com/yIwOq9WR4E

— NWS Baltimore-Washington (@NWS_BaltWash) June 27, 2023

At 2:25 PM EDT, Tysons Corner [Fairfax Co, VA] Broadcast Media reports Tstm Wnd Dmg. The ramp from eastbound VA-7 Leesburg Pike to northbound VA-123 Chain Bridge Road was blocked by downed trees. https://t.co/6fPcuWCyU4 pic.twitter.com/e9iAfmMCCv

— IEMBot LWX (@iembot_lwx) June 27, 2023

Small hail and strong wind in Reston pic.twitter.com/9gRQCqlsN0

— Robyn Matthews (@robyndmatthews) June 27, 2023