Community Corner

Outages Day 3: Over 150,000 Still Without Power, Air Conditioning

Most people should have power by Thursday or earlier.

Update, 6:00 p.m.:

As of 5:52 p.m., 133,937 Dominion Virginia Customers are still without power and air conditioning in Northern Virginia. 

"We have crews out there working to clear the trees so that we can get your power back on. It takes time to get to every tree," Dominion tweeted.

Find out what's happening in Lake Ridge-Occoquanwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

In Prince William County, 3710 customers are still without power. 

Update, 3:00 p.m.: 

Find out what's happening in Lake Ridge-Occoquanwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

As of 2:53 p.m., 152,287 Dominion Virginia Customers are without power in Northern Virginia. 

"We won't get to all locations today - if you're not on the list for today, chances are it may not be today," Dominion tweeted.

Check out  for Prince William County. 

In Prince William County, 4935 customers are still without power.

Update, 12:10 p.m.: 

As of 12:03 p.m., 164,487 Dominion Virginia Customers are without power in Northern Virginia. 

If you have an elderly friend or family member suffering from the heat, make plans to move them to a cooler location. Dominion can make a note of households with ailing residents, but cannot make those their priority. 

A Virginia resident tweeted: "Does Dominion give any priority to locations where the elderly with health problems are located?"

Dominion responded: "We have a medical certs list if the customer has called us & let us know but no priority, sorry. We encourage making plans."

In Prince William County, 9655 customers are still without power. 

Dark Traffic Signals

Drivers are reminded that if they come to an intersection where all traffic signals are dark, they should treat that intersection as a four-way stop to avoid accidents. WTOP reports police are out enforcing this law.

Heat Tips

  • If you don’t have air conditioning, go somewhere that has it. If you have to, try to stay on the lowest floor of a building and stay out of the sun.
  • Drink plenty of water to stay hydrated—a key component to keeping yourself cool.
  • Dress in light colored, lightweight clothes.
  • Try to spend the hottest part of the day in an air-conditioned location, such as your local library, movie theater or mall.
  • Check on your elderly neighbors, who are more susceptible to heat-related health problems.
  • Even with shade and water, it’s just too hot for your animals to be outside.
  • Double Dog Dare blogger Ariel Leath has .

Food Safety: If you've been without power since Friday night's storm, it's probably too late to save that food in your fridge and most food in your freezer. , including what's safe and what's not .

Update, 10:48 a.m.: 

Dominion for Prince William County. 

Update, 9:35 a.m.:

Prince William County's 911 service is operational once more.

"I just called dispatch and 911 service is back up," said Marcia Whaley with the PWC Police Department in an email. "I was informed they are now able to receive 911 phone calls."

Update, 9:20 a.m.: 

As of 9:13 a.m., 174,035 Dominion Virginia Power customers in Northern Virginia are still without power and air conditioning. 

"We can't give out info on who will be restored today, but work locations will be posted later today," Dominion tweeted. If the listed number of outages goes up, it's because crews are discovering new outages as they begin work in various neighborhoods.

In Prince William County, 5813 customers are still without power.

Update, July 2, 7:00 a.m.: 

Roughly one third of those who lost power in Northern Virginia after Friday night's storm are still without power on the third day after the storm. 

As of 7:00 a.m. Monday, 157,112 Dominion Virginia Power customers in Northern Virginia are still without power and air conditioning. 

Call 1-866-366-4357 to report an outage to Dominion. 

"We've got more crew work locations coming out later today," Dominion tweeted. "In the past 24 hours, we've made repairs at over 4,571 outage locations & restored service to more than 320,299 customers."

In Prince William County, 5297 customers are still without power.

Today's high will be 94, a few degrees shy of yesterday's high.

Prince William County has cooling shelters open at Freedom High School and Stonewall Jackson High School. See the full list of cooling shelters in Virginia

Update, July 1, 11:00 p.m.: 

As of 10:50 p.m. Sunday, 195,674 Dominion Virginia Power customers are still without power and air conditioning. 

In Prince William County, 6573 customers are still without power. 

We'll update you again at 7 a.m. tomorrow. 

Update, 7:00 p.m.:

As of 7:07 p.m. Sunday, 226,991 Dominion Virginia Power customers are still without power and air conditioning. 

"Estimated restoration times for individual customers (ETRs) are not yet available. We will let you know when individual ETRs are available," Dominion tweeted. "We're working 24/7 to get everyone back on, bringing in crews from 13 states. Working as quickly and safely as we can."

In Prince William County, 8556 customers are still without power. Check out today's Dominion  in Prince William County.

Update, 4:35 p.m.:

As of 4:34 p.m. Sunday, the most recent figures from Dominion Power show that 245,289 of its customers in Northern Virginia are still without power, after a surprise  hit the area Friday night. The company told Patch Sunday that it  before 100 percent power is restored.

Most recent outage figures by locality, of Dominion Power customers, show:

  • Alexandria: 23,758
  • Arlington: 37,359
  • Fairfax City: 3,451
  • Fairfax County: 127,058
  • Falls Church: 4,781
  • Loudoun County: 25,069
  • Prince William County: 7,988

View .

NOVEC customers in Prince William County .

Prince William County has cooling shelters open at Freedom High School and Stonewall Jackson High School. See the full list of cooling shelters in Virginia

Verizon is  in the wake of the storm. One of the biggest challenges has been a power failure at one of the Verizon facilities in Arlington, which has made it more difficult for some callers to dial 911 in Prince William and Fairfax Counties. 

Still, people are finding ways to cope: Down in Fredericksburg, business owners are  despite not having electricity. And in Reston, .

No word yet on whether federal employees will report to work on Monday.

Update, 1:45 p.m.: 

Dominion Virginia Power said 55,000 additional customers lost power in last night's storms, and that 90-95 percent of customers should have power by Thursday.

As of 1:45 p.m., 256,722 Dominion Virginia Power customers in Nothern Virginia are still without power and air conditioning. 

Update, 12:00 p.m.: 

As of 11:52 a.m., 270,177 Dominion Virginia Power customers in Northern Virginia are still without power and air conditioning. 

"We've got an update coming out midday on when power expected to be restored to ALL," Dominion tweeted. I'll post that update when they make it available. 

In Prince William County, 10,405 customers are still without power. Check out today's Dominion  in Prince William County.

Novec reports 1468 outages in Prince William County and 64 outages in Manassas Park. 

Update, 9:30 a.m.: 

Dominion Virginia has posted  for Prince William County and the rest of Northern Virginia.

Update, 9:00 a.m.:

As of 8:53 a.m., 283,103 Dominion Virginia Power customers in Northern Virginia are still without power and air conditioning. 

Dominion Power is promising work location updates this morning. 

"In large events like this we focus on getting the largest # of customers on the fastest, regardless of the order they're reported in," Dominion tweeted.

In Prince William County, 10,639 Dominion customers are still without power. 

NOVEC reports 1826 outages in Prince William County and 64 outages in Manassas Park.

Partial 9-1-1 service has been restored to Prince William and Fairfax Counties, . 

Because of the widespread nature of this storm, utility crews from as far away as Texas are enroute to the mid-Atlantic. Gov. Bob McDonnell said Saturday this is the biggest non-hurricane power outage in the state's history. 

Dark Traffic Signals

Drivers are reminded that if they come to an intersection where all traffic signals are dark, they should treat that intersection as a four-way stop to avoid accidents. WTOP reports police are out enforcing this law.

Heat Tips

  • If you don’t have air conditioning, go somewhere that has it. If you have to, try to stay on the lowest floor of a building and stay out of the sun.
  • Drink plenty of water to stay hydrated—a key component to keeping yourself cool.
  • Dress in light colored, lightweight clothes.
  • Try to spend the hottest part of the day in an air-conditioned location, such as your local library, movie theater or mall.
  • Check on your elderly neighbors, who are more susceptible to heat-related health problems.
  • Even with shade and water, it’s just too hot for your animals to be outside.
  • Double Dog Dare blogger Ariel Leath has .

Food Safety: If you've been without power since Friday night's storm, it's probably too late to save that food in your fridge and most food in your freezer. , including what's safe and what's not .

Update, July 1, 7:00 a.m.:

Power outage numbers continue to slowly decrease. As of 6:55 a.m., 293,871 Dominion Virginia Power customers in Northern Virginia are still without power and air conditioning. 

"Crews continue to work around the clock to get you back on. It's going to be another hot one, so please be safe," Dominion tweeted at 6:47 a.m. A few minutes later, they tweeted, "Stay tuned. We will be posting work locations later this AM. Will indicate where our crews will be focusing work for today."

In Prince William County, 11,383 Dominion customers are still without power. 

It'll be another scorcher today, with highs reaching the upper 90s in the county. Visit a cooling center in the area if you are without power. 

Update, June 30, 11:26 p.m.:

Dominion Virginia Power will be reassessing in the morning to see when the entire restoration process will be completed. See the above video for more information.

"Our crews cont'd to assess & uncover storm damage today/evening, we are going to evaluate what they found overnight. Still too soon for estimated restoration times," Dominion tweeted at 11:23 p.m. 

Get statewide road updates from VDOT: OnlineTwitterFacebook or call 800-FOR-ROAD.

Update, 9 p.m.: 

Dominion Power tweeted "As the cell phone lines open up in Northern Va, more folks are able to report their outages-increasing the stats," at 6:45 p.m. 

The power company also alerted that if you get a call back asking if your power is on and it is not to select option 3, which lets the company know there is additional damage to repair. If you hang up, the company assumes you are back on the grid.

As of 8:45 p.m. Saturday, 350,195 Northern Virginia Dominion customers were without power. In Prince William County, 14,312 Dominion customers are still without power. 

NOVEC's outage map is reporting 3,839 PWC customers are in the dark. In Manassas Park, 376 customers are without power and air conditioning. 

So far, severe thunderstorms have not hit the area this evening. But rain and lightning could be heavy at some points this evening as rain rolls through again. 

Update, 6 p.m.:

Hang in there! Power outage numbers are decreasing. Dominion reports that 369,231 Northern Virginians are without power.

Dominion's interactive outage map shows that 13,598 Prince William County residents are without power. 

 without power in PWC as of 5:45 p.m. There are 503 Manassas Park NOVEC customers without power. 

Cell phone service has started to return to the area, slowly but surely. 

The Washington Post's Capital Weather Gang reports that while we will have some storms tonight, they will be nowhere as bad as Friday night.

Update, 3:22 p.m.: Prince William County has opened cooling centers at and Battlefield High School. Freedom (15201 Neabsco Mills Rd., Woodbridge) will serve as a cooling center from 4-7 p.m.

Battlefield (15000 Graduation Dr., Haymarket, VA) is currently open and will remain open until 7 p.m.

The county posted on its Facebook page that communication center for 911 calls is working intermittently. 

As of 3:30 p.m., Dominion Virginia Power reported 396,165 customers without power in Northern Virginia. The temperature at 3 p.m. in Northern Virginia is 100 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.

NOVEC reported 5,899 Prince William Customers without power; 299 Manassas Park residents without power.

Dominion's interactive outage map shows 15,064 Prince William County residents without power. 

The Lake Ridge Parks and Recreation Association posted photos on its Facebook page to show extensive damage at the Tall Oaks Pool this morning. 

Update, 11:45 a.m.

As of 11:43 a.m., Dominion Virginia Power reported still nearly 430,000 customers without power on what could be one of the hottest days this year. Dominion is continuing to ask customers to call by calling 866-DOM-HELP (866-366-4357), or by visiting the Dominion Storm Center, even if you think your neighbor has already reported it.

Other power providers, including NOVEC and Pepco, are also reporting widespread outages. 

Many mobile customers of Verizon, AT&T and other major cellular providers are reporting difficulty accessing the Internet, email and making phone calls this morning.

The Fairfax County emergency blog is reporting the county's 911 call center is down. Some areas of Prince William County are also experiencing intermittent difficulties.

An increasing area of concern for emergency officials is the rapidly rising temperature. They are asking residents to check on elderly neighbors and try to stay cool by going to places that do have power and air conditioning — check your local movie theater, mall or library.

Update, 10:12 a.m.:

Verizon and AT&T customers have reported being without cell and home phone service Saturday.

"The severe storms that hit the Washington metropolitan area Friday night – and the resulting power outages that have affected much of the region – have also affected services for some Verizon customers," said Harry J. Mitchell with Verizon Communications. "Our operations teams currently are assessing the impact and are working to restore service as quickly as possible." 

Patch is waiting on information from AT&T regarding outages.  

UPDATE, 8:49 a.m.: 

Prince William County police's communications center is currently unable to accept 911 calls. Call the non-emergency number at 703-792-6500 instead.

Original Post: 

Northern Virginia woke up to power outages and scattered tree limbs and debris in roads after a powerful storm hit the area Friday night, killing two people in its wake after a day of record heat.

Khiet Nguyen, 27, of Burke died at about 11 p.m. after a tree hit his 1998 Mercury while he was driving west on Old Keene Mill Drive near Bauer Drive, according to Fairfax County Police. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

A 90-year-old woman died in Springfield when a tree fell on her home as she was lying in bed, according to FCPD. Another occupant of the home called 911 but was unable to reach the victim.

Police, fire and rescue units responded to the home in the 8100 block of Carr Street in Springfield Friday just before 11 p.m. A construction crane and specialized tree removal equipment have been brought to the scene and the operation is ongoing.

The victim’s name will be released when next of kin has been notified.

According to some local meterologists, Friday night's storm may have been a "derecho."

A derecho is "widespread, long-lived wind storm that is associated with a band of rapidly moving showers or thunderstorms. Although a derecho can produce destruction similar to that of tornadoes, the damage typically is directed in one direction along a relatively straight swath. As a result, the term 'straight-line wind damage" sometimes is used to describe derecho damage,'" according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

 

As of 7:30 a.m. on Saturday, the number out of power in the Northern Virginia area was about 450,000 according to Dominion Power spokeswoman Le-Ha Anderson, who was on her way back into the office at about 7:45 a.m. Saturday after a long night updating the media.

"If you experience an outage, it is important that you report it. We will not know your power is out unless you tell us," said a Dominion Power alert on its website. "Every call to our hotline allows our system to narrow down the precise location of the outage so that we can quickly and safely get our crews to the right sites. Also report hazardous or emergency situations by phone." 

Call 1-866-366-4357 to report an outage to Dominion. 

"It's way too soon to say when power will be restored," said Anderson, adding she expects it to be "multiple days" before power is fully restored to all homes. "Today we're focusing on assessing the damage."

NOVEC said crews are currently responding to outages caused by the severe storms. "If your power is out please call 1-888-335-0500 to report it. Due to the scope of the damage, restoration times may be longer than anticipated." 

As of 1:30 a.m. Saturday, outage figures from Domion Power:

Statewide: 540,285

Northern Virginia: 462,940

Alexandria: 26,800

Arlington: 58,000

Fairfax County: 242,750

City of Fairfax: 9,000

Falls Church: About 4,700

Prince William County: 22,000

Loudoun County: 36,117

Outage figures from NOVEC (as of 8:20 a.m.):

Prince William County: 8,557

Manassas Park: 772

Were you surprised by the severity of this storm? What were you doing when the derecho hit the area? Tell us in the Comments.

Patch editors Jason Spencer and Lauren Jost contributed to this story. 


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