Calm weather will return to the D.C. area this weekend after an afternoon and evening of severe weather caused flooding, power outages, damage to homes and businesses, and a dramatic rescue in Prince George's County.
Beginning early Friday afternoon, severe storms rolled through the D.C. area, Maryland, and Virginia. In some places, tornado watches and warnings were instituted by the National Weather Service and funnel clouds were observed, though there were no confirmed reports of a tornado touching down in the area. The last tornado watch for the area did not expire until 2 a.m. Saturday.
Commuters and other travelers were affected as well. Metro Orange Line service was briefly halted due to downed trees between the Deanwood and Cheverly stations. A loss of signal power prevented MARC trains from leaving Union Station for most of the Friday evening rush hour, while service on Amtrak trains was interrupted throughout the day.
The situation was no better at any of the three area airports. At one point during the afternoon, all departures were halted. When flights finally resumed, some customers reported flight delays of up to three-and-a-half hours. Well past midnight Saturday, traffic at BWI's departure gate was backed up on to Interstate 195 as people tried to drop off or pick up friends and relatives from delayed or canceled flights.
As of 9:30 a.m. Saturday, PEPCO reported 349 customers without power, mostly in the District of Columbia. Dominion Power reported that 5,800 customers were without power, but these outages were mostly concentrated in the Richmond area and the southeast portion of the Commonwealth. Less than 200 customers were without power in Northern Virginia. Baltimore Gas & Electric reported that 7,239 customers were without power, with 4,800 still in the dark in Baltimore County.
According to Storm4 meteorologist Kim Martucci, Saturday and Sunday hold the promise of great weather days, with temperatures in the mid-70s, low humidity, and, most importantly, clear skies.
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