DMV Storms: 64 MPH Winds & Outages Hit DC Region Thursday

A fierce cluster of severe thunderstorms swept through the Washington D.C. metropolitan area late Thursday night into early Friday morning, leaving over 150,000 customers without power and bringing damaging wind gusts up to 64 MPH. Initiating in western Pennsylvania before charging down I-95, the storm system produced near-constant lightning flashes and rapid downpours right before the busy Labor Day holiday weekend.

According to official National Weather Service reports, the storm moved into Northern Virginia and Maryland along the I-95 corridor before centering directly over Washington D.C. just before midnight. The strongest verified surface wind gust reached 64 MPH at Reagan National Airport, while Elaine E. Thompson Elementary School in Loudoun County recorded a 62 MPH gust. Doppler radar velocity estimates indicated localized wind bursts of 80 to 100 MPH across high-intensity pockets.

Utility providers scrambled as trees crashed into distribution lines, causing widespread service disruptions. Pepco reported 10,599 outages in Washington D.C., while Dominion Energy documented over 16,410 outages across Virginia, with Arlington County alone seeing nearly 20,000 residents momentarily cast into darkness.

Reporting from Capital Weather Gang analysts Ian Livingston, Jason Samenow, and Dan Stillman detailed extensive damage to local transit infrastructure. In Northern Virginia, fallen debris forced a total northbound closure of the George Washington Memorial Parkway at VA-123. Metro crews worked through the early morning hours to clear track obstructions, including a major tree strike near the Franconia–Springfield station.

Rainfall rates topped 2 to 5 inches per hour during peak cell passages, leading to a temporary flash flood emergency. Reagan National Airport measured 1.25 inches of rain in less than an hour, including over half an inch in a single 15-minute window. In Falls Church, emergency services executed a water rescue due to sudden high standing water, while D.C. firefighters responded to a roof fire in Fort Myer Heights caused by a direct lightning strike.

Cleanup crews continue clearing downed timber and restoring lines ahead of Friday evening, when the National Weather Service warns of a slight risk for renewed shower and thunderstorm activity. A cold front arriving late Friday is expected to break the humidity, dropping high temperatures to a more comfortable 86°F for Saturday.