WASHINGTON — The National Weather Service has declared a Hazardous Weather Outlook for areas across Maryland, northern Virginia and D.C. with the possibility of severe storms between 1 and 4 p.m. Saturday.
The storms brings risk of damaging winds, hail and a small tornado, NBC Storm Team 4 Meteorologist Tom Kierein told WTOP.
“Coming in out of the south and west, we’ve had the winds now gusting up to 20 to 25 mph,” Kierein said shortly after 9 a.m.
As a strong cold front sweeps through by mid-afternoon, the D.C. metro area will face strong gusts of wind as the front kicks through from west to east.
The storm will trigger some damaging winds, some hail and some brief heavy downpours, Kierein said.
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WEATHER:
Temperatures will jump into the low 70s by early afternoon along with blustery southwest winds before storms arrive. After storms move east of the D.C. metro area by late afternoon, northwest winds will be gusty 30 to 40 mph as colder air surges into our region.
Temperatures will plummet into the 30s by midnight with clearing skies. Winds will diminish by dawn Sunday with morning lows in the upper 20s in rural areas to mid-30s in the D.C. metro area. Sunday looks sunny and breezy with afternoon highs in the low 50s.
There will be Increasing clouds on Monday with afternoon highs in the upper 50s, and a chance of sprinkles Monday night. Tuesday will be partly sunny and milder with afternoon highs in the mid 60s. Wednesday will be mild with a few afternoon showers and highs near 70.
Get the full forecast on the WTOP.com weather page.
TRAFFIC:
So far, the winds have not caused any significant traffic delays or accidents.
Get the latest traffic updates on the WTOP traffic page, by following @WTOPTraffic on Twitter and by listening to 103.5 FM on-air or online.
COMMUTING/TRAVEL:
Metro rail and buses are operating as usual.
CLOSINGS AND DELAYS:
The impending storm has not caused any closings and delays thus far.
Get the full list of closings and delays on WTOP.com.
POWER OUTAGES:
Pepco customers can report outages by calling 1-877-PEPCO62 (1-877-737-2662), visiting their website or through a mobile app, available for download.
Dominion customers can report and check the status of power outages on their website or by calling 1-866-DOM-HELP (1-866-366-4357).
Outages and downed wires for Baltimore Gas and Electric Company may be reported on their website or by calling 1-877-778-2222.
Report outages to other power companies:
Potomac Edison: 888-544-4877 or click here.
NOVEC: 888-335-0500 or click here.
SMECO: 877-747-6326 or click here.
Rappahannock Electric Cooperative: 800-552-3904 or click here.
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