What to Know
- Dulles Airport saw its rainiest March day ever on Thursday with 2.69 inches recorded
- Quick-moving storms are racing through the D.C. area in the afternoon and early evening
- Hold onto your hat, literally: Expect sustained winds with gusts up to 50 mph
Severe storms quickly rolled through and dumped small ice and snow pellets over the D.C. area Friday evening.
Residents throughout the region shared photos of the graupel, which is soft hail or snow pellets, and what appeared to be hail about 4 p.m. Friday. The small pellets gave the effect of falling snow.
Quick-Moving Storm Drops Graupel Over DC Area
The storms started to wind down about 6:30 p.m. and strong winds will continue to gust throughout the rest of the evening.
The winds could blow away your lawn furniture, turn over trash cans or even uproot trees in soggy ground.
On Canal Rd beyond Arizona Ave, drivers in both outbound lanes are carefully getting by the large rock that fell from the cliff. The car that was struck has been towed. pic.twitter.com/PoGfcJX0Xt
— Dave Dildine (@DildineWTOP) March 21, 2019
Wow, as heavy rain continues to impact most of the area, rainfall totals climb...
— Amelia Draper (@amelia_draper) March 21, 2019
Never drive through a flooded road! pic.twitter.com/WrQwVIUg7U
It will remain windy and blustery until late Saturday afternoon. Northwest winds will average 15-30 mph with stronger gusts.
The combination of high winds and saturated soil means that there is an increased risk of power outages caused by falling trees and limbs.
Windy, cold weather sticks around into Saturday with highs in the low to mid 50s.
Skies will be clear by Saturday morning with temperatures near freezing, and Sunday will be the better day of the weekend with temps in the low to mid 60s.
