Severe weather conditions and storms swept across Washington’s metropolitan area Saturday with powerful winds forcing trees to topple, leaving thousands of residents and commercial places without power, killing one and injuring other two, US media reported.
According to the Power Outage US, 225,000 utility customers were left without electricity in Maryland and Virginia at about 6pm, with Pepco reporting about 15,000 customers in the District are without power.
Reports suggest that one of the injured was in serious condition after a tree fell on a car in the 2900 block of Foxhall Road NW in the District.
Prince William County Police said they were investigating the death of a man found after a tree fell onto a house in the Dumfries area.
Officials also reported damage to trees, structures, and the electrical grid in both the city and suburb. The hard-hit areas were said to be the Adams Morgan, Dupont, and Sheridan Circle neighborhoods in Northwest Washington.
Washington Post reported that the debris from trees blocked streets and roads in neighborhoods throughout the area, including Cleveland Park and Glover Park in the city and the Rockville and Takoma Park sections of the Maryland suburbs.
The National Zoo said it would close Sunday for storm cleanup.
Other trees toppled include the Baltimore Washington Parkway in Prince George’s County, Interstate 95 near Dumfries in Prince William County, the Capital Beltway and the George Washington Memorial Parkway in Fairfax County, and Interstate 66 in Arlington County.
The Post reported that On I-66 in Arlington, motorists left their cars on the roadway to try to move a huge tree trunk out of the way.
Fire Department said that a tree fell onto an apartment house on Queen Street in the Trinidad area of Northeast Washington, and the residents were evacuated.
Authorities also evacuated people after part of the roof was torn off an apartment house in the 3200 block of Wisconsin Avenue NW in the District.
At the official measuring station at Reagan National Airport, a wind gust of 60 mph was reported, and even stronger gusts were reported elsewhere.
A weather station at the Mount Vernon campus of George Washington University recorded an 84-mph gust.
In the late afternoon of a 97-degree day, the storms could be seen darkening skies to the northwest of the District, according to The Post.
