Storm Aftermath: Arlington Residents Deal With Tree Damage, Outages

ARLINGTON, VA — The severe storm that swept across Arlington late Saturday afternoon is unlikely to create weeklong power outages like the 2012 derecho, but the storm still left residents struggling to deal with major damage.

The strong storm was caused by extreme heat and humidity colliding with a strong cold front, according to meteorologists. Sections of Arlington were among the hardest hit in the Washington, D.C. area.

"Arlington County continues to respond to the July 29 storms," Arlington County said Sunday afternoon. "Thank you for your patience as crews work around the clock to address the extensive damage and restore service. Damage is widespread; service restoration and cleanup will take time."

For Monday morning's rush hour, the National Park Service said portions of the northern section of the George Washington Memorial Parkway will remain closed as crews work to remove fallen trees after Saturday's storm.

The northern section — from Spout Run Parkway to I-495 — continues to be closed, except for the northbound lanes from Route 123 to I-495. The southbound lanes of the Spout Run Parkway are also closed as tree crews work to remove trees from the roadway.

As of 10:15 p.m. Sunday, more than 2,600 homes in Arlington, the hardest hit jurisdiction in Dominion Energy's service territory, were still without electric power.

"We expect most customers affected by the storm to have their power restored by 11 p.m. this evening, with some outages extending into Monday due to pockets of significant damage," Dominion said Sunday around noon. "We appreciate your patience as crews work as quickly and safely as possible to get your lights back on."

Dominion spokeswoman Peggy Fox said at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday that a lot of restoration work is being done here in Arlington's Aurora Highlands neighborhood, with one project using four bucket trucks and 11 workers.

No storm-related injuries were reported in Arlington. In Prince William County, a man was killed when a tree crashed down on his home during the storms around 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, according to reports. In D.C., a large tree fell on a car in the 2900 block of Foxhall Road NW, injuring two people. One is in serious condition, the other has minor injuries, NBC4 reported.

In D.C., the National Zoo was closed on Sunday due to storm cleanup.

The storms did not produce tornadoes or a derecho, according to the Washington Post’s Capital Weather Gang. But the winds were as strong and the damage as devastating in parts of Arlington as those produced by recent tornadoes and the 2012 derecho, the Capital Weather Gang said.

The storm caused more widespread damage across Arlington than the tornados that hit the county on July 1, 2021. In neighborhoods across the county, workers from Arlington County, Dominion Energy and contractors called into the county could be found clearing trees from roads and power lines.

Residents were helping their neighbors and offering recommendations for tree contractors to remove trees that fell on their property. Arlington County was quick to send out crews Saturday night to remove trees from public streets and sidewalks, according to residents.

One resident whose Westover area home was damaged and her car totaled by a large oak that the storm uprooted was impressed by the work of Arlington's tree crews who came late Saturday night to clear a portion of the tree that fell on her house from the street.

Residents in the Maywood neighborhood were out cleaning up from the storm Sunday morning. Some said they saw electric wires catch fire and then burn tree branches that had fallen on the wires and then cause burn marks on their driveways. Homeowners were lucky the fires did not extend to the homes, they said.

At one house with major tree damage, the owners were out of town. Neighbors were able to enter the home and retrieve the cats to keep them safe until the owners returned.

Saturday’s strong winds were caused by a phenomenon known as downbursts, according to the Capital Weather Gang. These downbursts are common in summer storms and are blasts of wind that originate in the clouds and then slam into the ground and fan out. They can produce gusts more severe than low-end tornadoes.

RELATED:

• Storm Knocks Down Trees, Causes Widespread Power Outages In Arlington
• Two Tornadoes Cause Widespread Damage Across Arlington, DC
• Two Killed Friday in 'Derecho' Storm in Northern Virginia