WASHINGTON — Damaging thunderstorms and hurricane-force wind gusts, combined with extreme heat, knocked out power to more than 200,000 residents in the Washington, D.C., area on Saturday.
According to PowerOutage.US, at 8:30 p.m. EDT, more than 118,000 residents are without power in Maryland, with an additional 113,000 residents with power knocked out in Virginia.
Reports of fallen trees and wind gusts between 60 mph to 85 mph were reported in the area, The Washington Post reported.
@capitalweather @MatthewCappucci pretty nasty wind damage in Court House/Lyon Village part of Arlington. It’s almost certainly not, but reminiscent of tornado 2 years ago pic.twitter.com/cID1wxw4j5
— Zach Rosenthal (@z_rosenthal) July 29, 2023
The National Weather Service issued several severe thunderstorm warnings for the D.C. area, including parts of Maryland and Virginia, WRC-TV reported.
In northeast Washington, authorities evacuated residents from an apartment building after a large tree fell onto the building, according to WTTG-TV. In northwest Washington, D.C. Fire and Rescue reported two people were injured after a tree fell onto a vehicle, the Post reported.
One of the injuries was serious, while the other was minor, according to the newspaper.
Wind gusts were reported up to 84 mph at George Washington University’s northwest campus, while winds of 69 mph were recorded in Germantown, Maryland, the Post reported.
Winds gusted to 61 mph in Glen Echo, Maryland, while Reagan National Airport recorded 60 mph winds. Gusts up to 58 mph were reported in Arlington, Virginia, and Bowie, Maryland, according to the newspaper.
Temperatures were high, too. The thermometer reached 97 degrees in Washington, 98 at Dulles International Airport and 99 in Baltimore, the Post reported.
