mobanmarketARLINGTON, VA — Severe thunderstorms tore through Arlington Saturday afternoon as a cool front moved into the Washington, D.C. area, causing power outages and significant damage across the county.
As of 7:15 p.m. Dominion was reporting about 33,000 customers without power in Arlington. Power is likely to remain out into Sunday for many of these customers.
Across the D.C. region, more than 200,000 customers lost power in the wake of the storm.
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Due to the storm, the northern section of the George Washington Memorial Parkway from Spout Run Parkway in Arlington to the Capital Beltway will remain closed as crews work to remove trees from the roadway, according to the National Park Service.
The closure will remain in place on Sunday until an assessment has been completed and all hazardous trees removed, the NPS said Saturday night.
Find out what's happening in Arlingtonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Wind gusts from the storm reached 58 mph at Hoffman-Boston Elementary School in Arlington, according to WTOP. A peak gust of 60 mph was reported at Reagan National Airport.
The Arlington County Fire Department said it was experiencing a significant increase in call volume after the storm rolled through the county shortly before 5 p.m.
“Emergency incidents will be addressed based on their priority level and available resources. Expect response times to be delayed,” the fire department said.
The fire department responded to calls of smoke inside of homes and other buildings, ARLnow reported Saturday.
Traffic lights were out in many parts of Arlington. A power line was seen sparking on Military Road across from the Church of the Covenant.
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