Keep an eye on the roads — the National Weather Service has issued a flood warning for Arlington through 6:30 p.m. tonight (Tuesday).
The weather service estimates the D.C. region could see up to two inches of rain in total tonight, though storms are supposed to move out of the area quickly.
(Updated at 7:35 p.m.) Friday’s wind storm has taken a toll on Arlington, sending trees toppling onto cars, houses and across roads, and knocking out power to tens of thousands.
As of 7:30 p.m., Dominion reported 14,663 customers without power in Arlington. An hour earlier, it appeared that the numbers were finally dropping, but thanks to continued strong winds it has, in fact, gone up.
High winds are expected to wallop the Washington region tonight through Saturday and officials are asking the public to take precautions.
Wind gusts as strong as 60-70 miles per hour are possible from Friday from 4 a.m. through midnight, forecasters say. Wind gusts over 30 miles per hour are expected generally from tonight into Sunday.
There’s been a lot of clean-up in Arlington following last Thursday’s strong storms that produced a weak tornado.
The National Weather Service says the tornado formed adjacent to the Army Navy Country Club and lasted for six minutes on its 4.5 mile journey through Pentagon City and into Washington, D.C. The F-0 tornado had peak winds of 60-70 miles per hour.
Update at 11:20 p.m. — The National Weather Service confirms that an EF-0 tornado tracked through Arlington and into the District on Thursday.
Earlier: The storms that whipped through Arlington and the D.C. region yesterday brought power outages and damage, and more trees toppled today, according to the Arlington County Fire Department.
Arlington County and some surrounding areas are under a Severe Thunderstorm Warning through 9 p.m. tonight.
The National Weather Service says a storm producing high wind gusts is heading toward the area from the west.
Dominion Virginia Power is reporting 4,245 customers without power in Arlington — almost 5 percent of all customers in the county. Power outages have been reported in Pentagon City, in Courthouse near I-66 and in the Virginia Square area.
The Fashion Centre at Pentagon City mall was evacuated during the storm due to a power outage there. Scanner reports suggest firefighters rescued some customers from stuck elevators. The Pentagon Centre mall was also reported to be without power.
The EWS will be open for vulnerable residents every day from 4:00 p.m.-9:00 a.m., through March 31. Hours may be extended on especially cold days, which happened during last season’s cold snap. The temporary facility at 2049 15th Street N. accommodates up to 74 people and other nearby facilities can be used as overflow during severe weather.
Arlington County funds the EWS and it is operated by the nonprofit Arlington Street People’s Assistance Network (A-SPAN), under the supervision of the county’s Department of Human Services. It provides homeless residents with facilities for sleeping, eating, showering and doing laundry.
The National Weather Service has issued a Severe Thunderstorm Watch that’s in effect through 9:00 p.m.
Forecasters say strong storms are possible in the D.C. and Baltimore areas.
(Updated 6:10 p.m.) A short lived, yet strong, string of storms left patches of destruction and power outages after it whipped through the area this afternoon. Although all parts of the county sustained some damage, the worst reports seem to be coming from South Arlington.
According to Dominion Virginia Power spokesman Chuck Penn, as of 5:45 p.m. there were about 6,500 Arlington customers without electricity. Most of the 33,000 Dominion customers currently without power are in Alexandria. However, Penn noted that “this is a very dynamic, unfolding situation” so numbers are changing almost by the minute.
(Updated at 4:15 p.m.) The National Weather Service has upgraded the Severe Thunderstorm Watch for Arlington and surrounding areas to a Severe Thunderstorm Warning. It is in effect until 4:30 p.m.
From NWS:
