The agency says it is calling in additional support personnel, who will be “on duty throughout the weekend to respond to any situations that may arise.”
WMATA is supplying chain saws to Metro drivers, “for use in the event of downed trees.” Metrobuses and MetroAccess vehicles may be detoured around fallen trees and flooded areas, as necessary. Metro is also checking all drainage pumps and clearing out debris from drainage areas near Metro stations.
A tree has fallen on the Custis Trail between N. Quinn and N. Oak Streets, according to Barry Skidmore of the blog People-Powered Arlington.
Skidmore Tweeted this photo just after 9:00 this morning.
Storm Damage Caused by ‘Macroburst’ — The National Weather Service says the extensive damaged caused by Sunday night’s storm was caused by a “macroburst” — a larger version of a microburst. The macroburst brought winds of 60-70 miles per hour to some North Arlington neighborhoods, causing trees and power poles to snap in half. [MyFoxDC]
RV Catches Fire on GW Parkway — Traffic was brought to a standstill on the GW Parkway Monday morning when an RV burst into flames. Dark, billowing smoke from the fire could be seen across the river in D.C. The driver got out safely, but the RV was a total loss. [NBC Washington]
Crews are still working to clean up toppled trees and tangled power lines left in the wake of the powerful storm that ripped through Arlington Sunday night.
The photo above depicts damage in the area of Glebe Road and Old Dominion Drive, in one of the county’s hardest-hit neighborhoods. As of 3:00 a.m., 1360 Dominion customers in North Arlington were still without power.
Update at 9:05 p.m. — The number of Dominion customers without power in Arlington is now down to 350.
Dominion is reporting that just over 2,500 customers are without power in Arlington after a line of storms raced through the area just after dinner time.
A line of storms rolled through Arlington this afternoon, knocking down trees and power lines and generally making a soggy mess of the area’s spring blooms.
As of 7:10 p.m. there were 724 Dominion customers without power in Arlington County. Among the areas where downed trees were reported were N. Dittmar Road in the Old Glebe neighborhood and in the parking lot of an apartment complex at S. Scott Street and Columbia Pike (above).
Miserable weather led to scattered problems across Arlington last night.
Steady rains caused some localized flooding in parts of the county. Police reportedly had to block off 11th Street at North Kennebec Street last night due to water in the roadway. A big pool of standing water also caused a traffic hazard on the northbound lanes of Glebe Road, just before Wilson Boulevard.
(Updated at 4:00 p.m.) A large tree has fallen and damaged a home on the 3800 block of North Vernon Street, in the Old Glebe neighborhood.
The falling tree took utility lines down with it. Dominion Power has shut down power to the lines and has a crew on the scene.
The road was closed for most of the morning as crews worked to clear snow, fallen trees and abandoned vehicles.
G.W. Parkway drivers spent up to 14 hours in their cars, from yesterday afternoon to early this morning, as fallen trees and collisions blocked the roadway in both directions.
There are now just under 13,000 Dominion customers without power, a number that seems to keep falling.
Highways like I-66 and I-395, which were jammed last night with traffic, snow and disabled and crashed vehicles, are now clear. Most major local county roads are clear. But many side streets remain impassable, either because of snow or downed trees. A big test will come in the next hour, as federal employees — currently on a two-hour delay — start heading to work.
The maintenance comes just under three weeks after a strong storm felled trees and knocked out power to homes in the area, near Virginia Hospital Center.
The power will be shut off from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., Dominion said in a letter to affected residents. The work is being performed “near the primary line that feeds [the] neighborhood,” according to the letter.
High winds are causing problems in the area. On an otherwise beautiful, sunny day, more than 1,000 Dominion customers were without power in Arlington as of 4:30 p.m.
On Dittmar Road in North Arlington, two large trees were felled by the wind, bringing down a mess of telephone poles, live power lines and communication cables. The area is expected to be without power for an extended period of time. Stretched-thin Dominion Power repair crews have yet to arrive on scene.
