Severe Winds Leave Thousands Without Power in D.C. Area

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Thousands of residents across the D.C. area are without power Monday following a weekend of brutal wind gusts that reached up to 50 mph. The winds, accompanied by on-and-off rain, caused downed power lines and trees, particularly in Northern Virginia.

As of late Monday morning, data from poweroutage.us showed that Dominion Energy reported nearly 14,000 customers affected, with the majority of outages in Fairfax, Fauquier, and Loudoun counties. Additionally, Pepco indicated that over 1,000 customers in Montgomery County, Maryland, were also experiencing power loss.

The situation escalated over the weekend as approximately 42,000 outages were reported at the height of the storm, predominantly affecting Dominion Energy customers. In Fairfax County, fire officials noted that seven trees had fallen onto homes due to the erratic winds.

Wind gusts were so severe that they prompted temporary closures of the Bay Bridge, which was shut down for approximately two hours on Sunday. Although it has since reopened, officials have continued to issue wind warnings for the Nice-Middleton and Tydings bridges.

Montgomery County experienced widespread damage with multiple downed trees blocking roads and damaging power lines. The National Weather Service recorded a gust of 76 mph in the Catoctin Mountains, marking one of the highest speeds in the region.

“These strong winds are typically tied to the cold front. The winds stir up significantly as they push through the area,” said senior meteorologist Veronica Johnson. “As we move into Monday, we can expect a cold wind chill that could drop to around 20 degrees.”

The National Weather Service remained vigilant, stating that wind warnings were still in effect while monitoring conditions across Virginia, Maryland, and D.C. The current outages can be tracked on a live map that is updated every 10 minutes.

WTOP’s Will Vitka contributed to this report.