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Thousands still without power after severe storms fell trees and power lines across DMV

Severe storms rolled Thursday afternoon through the District, Maryland and Virginia, causing damage across the region

WASHINGTON — About 20,000 customers remained without power Friday after a line of severe storms moved across the Metro area the previous day, producing damaging winds, heavy rain and hail.

• In Northern Virginia at the height of the problems Thursday afternoon, Dominion Energy was reporting more than 115,000 customers with no electricity. By Friday morning the number had dropped to fewer than 17,500. Check the power outage map here for more details.

• In the District of Columbia and southern Maryland, Pepco was down to fewer than 1,000 without power, according to its outage map. Close to 25,000 were out Thursday.

"Always assume downed power lines are energized and stay away," Pepco officials tweeted.

MAY 24: Friday forecast: Fabulous, a few storms over the holiday weekend
MAY 23: EF-1 tornado touches down in Columbia, Md.
MAY 23: Only three serious tornadoes have hit D.C. in the past 50 years

• In Howard County where an EF-1 tornado touched down in Columbia and other parts of northern Maryland, Baltimore Gas and Electric's outages also had dwindled to fewer than 1,000 by Friday morning, according to its outage map.

DAMAGE REPORTS

Severe storms rolled Thursday afternoon through the Washington area with damaging winds in many places.

Credit: WUSA Weather
Storm Reports as of 6:04 PM Thursday 5-23-19

Watch the forecast here

District of Columbia

A large tree fell on two houses in the 1400 block of 18th Place SE. Firefighters evacuated residents, and no one was hurt.

Arlington County, Va.

Northern Virginia bore the brunt of electricity outages Thursday, causing issues with traffic lights and downed power lines, and the inconveniences continued Friday morning.

Treat traffic lights that are out like a four-way stop and stay clear of power lines lying in yards and on roadways, officials with the Arlington Fire Department said.

"We're are currently experiencing extremely high call volume due to the storm," Arlington Fire tweeted at 4:40 p.m. "If you are stuck in an elevator, we're sorry for the inconvenience, but we will be there as soon as possible to get you out."

Glebe Road was closed in both directions from U.S. 50 to Henderson Road because of downed live power lines. Arlington police said it expected the closure to last eight to 12 hours.

Alexandria, Va. 

Businesses along King Street in Alexandria were without power.

Fairfax County, Va.

Fairfax County Fire and Rescue responded to eight calls for people stuck in elevators and needing rescue. Officials reported no known injuries.

A tree fell into a house in the 7400 block of Allan Avenue in the Idylwood area. Two people were inside the home, but no one was trapped.

Both residents were taken to a hospital for a checkup, Fairfax County Fire and Rescue said. At last check, a building inspector was headed to the home to assess the damage and determine whether its occupants could continue to live there before repairs were made.

Metro said to expect delays along the Orange Line after an earlier power outage at the Vienna subway stop.

Fairfax City Streets Department was removing hazards from the street in the 9800 block of Ranger Road after a tree blew down.

Prince William County, Va. 

Trees were down along Lee Highway at Featherbed Lane, the Prince William County emergency manager reported.

Howard County, Md. 

Columbia had all of the reported damage in the county.

An EF-1 tornado blew through the area in 9700 block of Broken Land Parkway, according to the National Weather Service.

Trees were downed on Cedar Road just off Maryland 32.

At about 3:40 p.m., a Columbia woman received minor injuries after a tree crashed through a home in the 10200 block of Wayover Way, according to Howard County Fire and Rescue.

Credit: Howard County Fire & EMS
A tree crashed into a Howard County home in the 10200 block of Wayover Way.

Montgomery County, Md.

Old Hundred Road near Barnsville was closed between Barnesville and Comus roads.

On Hollins Drive in Bethesda, downed trees damaged vehicles and property damaged but caused no injuries.

In Brookeville, Georgia Avenue was shut down between Gregg and Bordly roads because of downed trees and wires, and a power pole was damaged. Also on Georgia Avenue near Gregg Road downed tree and wires were burning.

In Chevy Chase, crews worked to rescue a person stuck in high water on a ramp on southbound Maryland 355 to the outer loop of Interstate 495.

A road in Laytonsville had a downed tree.

Prince George's County, Md. 

Prince George's County Fire Department responded to a crash in Lanham with a person trapped. It happened on the median strip of I-495 near U.S. 50.

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