(Updated at 1:45 p.m.) Hundreds of people in Fairfax County are still without power after a thunderstorm swept through the D.C. area late yesterday afternoon (Monday).
Outages have been significantly reduced overnight, with the number of people affected dropping from more than 8,000 to about 500, as of 9:30 a.m., according to PowerOutage.US.
(Updated at 6:30 p.m.) The thunderstorm has passed, but it has left some destruction in its wake, taking out electricity for more than 8,000 people in Fairfax County.
According to PowerOutage.US, there are currently 8,707 customers without power in the county.
Fairfax County was, in fact, hit by two tornados during last week’s rainstorm.
The National Weather Service determined there was a tornado in Centreville on Thursday (March 31), in addition to the one that touched down in Tysons.
(Updated at 12:03 p.m.) Intense rains inundated parts of Fairfax County last night (Thursday) as a storm damaged two gas station and caused alerts for a tornado that were later canceled.
Yesterday’s weather brought high speed winds of 35 mph and wind gusts as strong as 51 mph, the National Weather Service reported after the storm quickly swept through. Tysons and Centreville also saw possible tornado touchdowns.
The National Weather Service issued a Wind Advisory and a Severe Thunderstorm Watch for Fairfax County and surrounding areas this afternoon (Thursday).
The Wind Advisory warns of winds between 15 to 25 mph with gusts up to 50 mph and is in effect until 8 p.m., while the Thunderstorm Watch is in effect until 10 p.m.
Fairfax County Public Schools won’t hold classes for a third consecutive day this week, citing inclement weather in an announcement released just before 5 p.m.
The region could see freezing rain between 4 a.m. and 9 a.m. tomorrow (Wednesday), according to the National Weather Service, following Monday’s snowstorm that pummeled the region with over half a foot of snow in areas.
Flooding, power outages, and other impacts from storms are among the top climate change-related concerns for Fairfax County residents, the recently released results of a county survey suggest.
606 community members participated in the survey that the Fairfax County Office of Environmental and Energy Coordination (OEEC) conducted between June 8 and July 2 as part of its Resilient Fairfax initiative, which will produce a plan for how the county can withstand and adapt to the threats introduced by a warming planet.
The National Weather Service has issued a Flash Flood Watch for much of the D.C. area, including Fairfax County.
In effect until 2 a.m. tomorrow (Tuesday), the alert says showers and thunderstorms could bring up to 4 inches of rain in some areas, potentially leading to rapidly rising stream and creek waters.
Updated at 3:30 p.m. — The National Weather Service has now issued an Areal Flood Warning until 9:30 p.m. for central Fairfax County, with Reston, Vienna, Falls Church, Annandale, and Springfield among the locations that could experience flooding. Between 1 and 1.5 inches of rain have already fallen with an additional 1 to 2 inches possible.
Earlier: After a couple of relatively dry weeks, the weather in Fairfax County is about to take a turn for the rainy today (Thursday).
