Update at 6:35 p.m. — A possible lightning strike caused a minor house fire on the 400 block of N. Bryan Street in Lyon Park, according to scanner traffic.
Update at 6 p.m. — Throughout Arlington nearly 2,500 homes and businesses are without power, according to Dominion’s website. In addition to the outage along Wilson Blvd, there are outages reported in the Arlington Mill and Forest Glen neighborhoods, as well as the Cherrydale, Maywood, Woodmont, Riverwood, and Dover Crystal neighborhoods.
Firefighters have responded to a number of stuck elevator calls around the county, including those neighborhoods with power outages, over the past two hours.
The FAA, meanwhile, says Reagan National Airport is in a ground stop, with an average departure delay of around 90 minutes, due to the storms.
Update at 5:30 p.m. — Wilson Blvd is expected to remain closed for an extended period of time near between N. Larrimore Street and N. Manchester Street, near Bluemont Park, due to a large downed tree and downed wires, according to scanner traffic and an Arlington Alert message.
Power outages have been reported in the area, affecting nearly 1,000 homes and businesses in the Dominion Hills, Boulevard Manor and Bluemont neighborhoods, according to Dominion Energy’s website.
Update at 5:15 p.m. — A second Severe Thunderstorm Warning has been issued for parts of South Arlington, including Pentagon City and Shirlington. Power outages and downed trees have been reported in parts of the county.
Earlier: A Severe Thunderstorm Warning has been issued for Arlington, Falls Church, D.C. and other parts of the area.
A line of severe storms is approaching from the northwest, prompting warnings for much of the region.
More from the National Weather Service:
Severe Thunderstorm Warning issued August 10 at 3:57PM EDT by NWS Baltimore MD/Washington DC
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 3:57 P.M. TO 4:45 P.M. EDT MONDAY.
SVRLWX
The National Weather Service in Sterling Virginia has issued a
* Severe Thunderstorm Warning for… The District of Columbia… Northwestern Anne Arundel County in central Maryland… Southern Howard County in central Maryland… Montgomery County in central Maryland… Northern Prince Georges County in central Maryland… Southeastern Loudoun County in northern Virginia… The City of Fairfax in northern Virginia… Arlington County in northern Virginia… The City of Falls Church in northern Virginia… Northern Fairfax County in northern Virginia… The City of Alexandria in northern Virginia…
* Until 445 PM EDT.
* At 357 PM EDT, severe thunderstorms with a history of producing wind damage were located along a line extending from Damascus to near Boyds to Broadlands, moving east at 40 mph.
HAZARD…60 mph wind gusts.
SOURCE…Radar indicated.
IMPACT…Damaging winds will cause some trees and large branches to fall. This could injure those outdoors, as well as damage homes and vehicles. Roadways may become blocked by downed trees. Localized power outages are possible. Unsecured light objects may become projectiles.
* Locations impacted include… Baltimore, Arlington, Alexandria, Columbia, Germantown, Rockville, Bethesda, Gaithersburg, Reston, Bowie, Severn, Annandale, Clinton, Olney, Springfield, College Park, Crofton, South Riding, Fort Washington, and Herndon.
For your protection move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a building.
Large hail, damaging wind, and continuous cloud to ground lightning are occurring with these storms. Move indoors immediately. Lightning is one of nature’s leading killers. Remember, if you can hear thunder, you are close enough to be struck by lightning.
Torrential rainfall is occurring with these storms, and may lead to flash flooding. Do not drive your vehicle through flooded roadways.
