Power Outage in Leesburg, VA

Numerous trees and power lines were blown down in a several hundred yard wide straight-line swath near the intersection of Windfields Service Lane and VA-734 Snickersville Turnpike. Trees were also blown down on VA-734 Snickersville Turnpike near Sam Fred Road.

Both lanes of US-50 were shut down at Four Chimneys Lane due to downed power lines and trees from strong winds.

A tree was down on power lines in the 15900 Block of Limestone School Road.

A tree was reported down on power lines on Whites Ferry Road near James Monroe Highway.

There were numerous tree limbs down from SW to NE Leesburg most a half inch to an inch in diameter. A few good sized limbs 3 to 5 inches in diameter. Some power lines were down and no structural damage.

A large tree fell down over power lines. A power pole was broken off and wrapped into a tree.

Snowfall amounts between 22 and 35 inches were received across the county. Power outages were reported throughout the county due to the weight of the snow on trees and power lines.

Power lines were down along Harpers Ferry Road in Neersville.

Loudoun County Emergency Management reported a tree down on power lines at the intersection of Union and Wirt Streets in downtown Leesburg.

Trained spotters in Loudoun Heights and Ashburn measured wind gusts of 60 to 61 mph. Loudoun County Emergency Management reported numerous downed trees and power lines across the central and western portions of the county.

Trained spotters measured between a trace and a quarter of an inch of ice in Loudoun County, with the higher amounts closer to the Blue Ridge in western Loudoun County. Loudoun County Emergency Management reported several trees and power lines down in Purcellville and Middleburg.

A trained spotter reported several trees and power lines down in Lovettsville. Emergency Management verified the report. The spotter also measured a wind gust of 62 mph.

A Cooperative Observer in Middleburg measured 8 tenths of an inch of ice. Loudoun County Emergency Management reported approximately 5500 customers without power. Icing on trees caused damage in mostly the western potions of the county.

A trained spotter in Lovettsville measured a wind gust of 51 mph. A mesonet station in Leesburg measured a wind gust of 46 mph. Local media reported up to 8,000 power outages in Leesburg due to gusty winds.

Loudoun County Officials reported power lines down at Church and Loudoun Streets in downtown Leesburg.

A Trained Spotter reported power lines down near US Route 15 south of Point of Rocks, MD, near Lucketts, VA.

Newspaper reports indicated scattered power outages and downed trees around the Washington DC suburbs in Northern Virginia.

Trees and powerwires down

Power lines were downed.

Trees and power lines were downed.

A cold front pushed into the Mid Atlantic region on June 14. With strong afternoon heating, scattered strong to severe thunderstorms developed ahead of the front in the afternoon and evening. Some of the storms resulted in downed trees and power lines. In Leesburg, Virginia, nickel sized hail was also reported.

A very warm and humid air mass was entrenched across the Mid Atlantic during the late afternoon and evening hours of June 7th. As an upper level disturbance moved across the area, scattered strong to severe thunderstorms developed. Damaging winds brought down some trees and power lines across north central Virginia. The largest diameter hail recorded was quarter-sized, and occurred in Purcellville in Loudoun County.

A potent storm system crossed the region May 12th. Warm and moist air filtered in ahead of the system, bringing widespread showers and thunderstorms with heavy rain. Heavy rain began to overspread the region during the evening of the 11th and continued through the morning of the 12th. The pressure gradient with the low pressure system produced strong gusty winds across portions of northern and central Virginia during the late evening. With the ground already saturated dozens of trees and power lines fell across the region. Many roads remains closed into the afternoon of the 12th.

A strong cold front pushed across the Mid Atlantic on the evening of June 8th. Ahead of the front, temperatures measured in the mid to upper 90s and dew points around 70, creating a heat index above 100. This warm and unstable airmass allowed scattered showers and thunderstorms to develop over northern and central Virginia during the afternoon and continued through the evening. Some of these storms became severe, producing large hail and damaging winds that downed trees and power lines.

A major winter storm occurred on December 15-16 across portions of the region. A low pressure storm tracked from the Gulf Coast to the Delmarva Peninsula by Friday morning, December 16. With warm air being drawn north into the cold air already in place, significant accumulations of freezing rain occurred across much of the area. Significant power outages occurred, especially in the Central Shenandoah Valley. Heavy snowfall also occurred across the higher elevations mainly along the Allegany Front, with nearly a foot of storm total snowfall. Ice accumulations in the Shenandoah Valley were up to 1 inch. 5 fatalities occurred as a result of this major winter storm (indirect). All of these fatalities were traffic related. Dominion Virginia Power reported more than 40,000 customers without power in North-Central Virginia.

Very strong winds accompanied a cold front that crossed the region on the first of December. The strong winds produced damage in parts of the Shenandoah Valley. Isolated high winds occurred in the downslope areas just east of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Numerous trees and power lines were downed. Some damage to structures was reported and there were many power outages.

Scattered to numerous thunderstorms developed on May 21st ahead of an approaching cold front. The thunderstorms producedvery strong winds that downed numerous trees and power lines across Northern Virginia. Nickel to penny size hail was also reported with a few of these storms.

Thunderstorms with damaging winds and large hail moved through Northern Virginia during the evening of the 22nd. In Page County, a downburst of winds estimated between 70 and 80 MPH caused significant damage in Dovel Hollow near Stanley. The wind ripped the roof off of a 45 by 60 foot machine shed, threw it over a two story house, and it finally landed on Dovel Hollow Road nearly 300 yards away. Debris from the shed was thrown into the 2nd story of the home and caused significant damage to the front of the structure. The shed debris also damaged a pickup truck and tore wires off another home. In the vicinity several trees and power lines were also downed. Residents reported one half inch of rainfall in 15 minutes and hail. In Rappahannock County, penny sized hail fell in Sperryville. In Culpeper County, a tree was downed onto a house just west of Culpeper. In Fauquier County, a few trees were downed in Warrenton. In Loudoun County, a tree was downed in Bluemont. In Clarke County, trees were downed east of Berryville.

Thunderstorms with heavy downpours, frequent lightning, and high winds moved through the northern portion of Virginia between the afternoon of the 16th and the early morning hours of the 17th. In Culpeper County, trees were downed southeast of Elkwood along the Fauquier County border. In Stafford County, trees were downed east of Falmouth near the King George County line. Trees were also downed in King George in King George County. In Fauquier County, trees were downed in Remington. In Loudoun County, trees were downed in Ashburn. A total of 3.39 inches of rain was recorded in Leesburg. In addition, lightning struck a century-old bank barn on Bald Hill Road near Waterford. The structure caught fire and burned to the ground. Fire also spread to an adjacent barn. Two cars and a pickup truck in the barns were destroyed. Two other trucks and a tractor were also damaged. A total of $200,000 damage was reported. In Clarke County, several trees and power lines were downed in the western portion of the county.

Scattered thunderstorms moved through Northern and Central Virginia between 5 and 8 PM EDT on the 9th. The strongest storms produced wind gusts in excess of 55 MPH in Augusta, Albemarle, Loudoun, and Frederick counties. In Frederick County, a power line was downed onto Emma Row Lane in Gore. A tree was downed onto Apple Pie Ridge Road in Gainesboro. Power lines were downed onto Welltown Road in Clear Brook. In Loudoun County, trees were downed across the western portion of the county. Power lines and tree branches were downed in Leesburg. In Albemarle County, trees were downed at mile marker 113 on Interstate 64 about 6 miles southeast of Crozet. In Augusta County, scattered trees were downed countywide.

Low pressure moved from the Gulf Coast through the Eastern Seaboard on the 6th and brought a mixed bag of precipitation to the region. From the Blue Ridge west, the precipitation fell mainly in the form of snow with a period of sleet and freezing rain at the onset. The Shenandoah Valley received a few hours of freezing rain at the beginning of the event which resulted in several accidents. One hundred wrecks were reported on Interstate 81 between southern Rockingham County and northern Shenandoah County. Multi-car crashes temporarily closed the southbound lanes of I-81 near Mount Crawford and Woodstock. East of the Blue Ridge, a mix of rain, freezing rain, and sleet changed over to snow and sleet late in the day. In Rockingham County, snow and sleet accumulations ranged from 3 to 5 inches. Twelve traffic accidents were reported in Harrisonburg. In Shenandoah County, accumulations averaged around 4 inches. In Frederick County, accumulations ranged from 4.5 to 6 inches. In Highland County, 4 to 6 inches was reported. In Augusta County, accumulations of 2 to 4 inches were noted. A thin coating of ice on roads caused as many as 50 accidents in the Staunton and Waynesboro areas. Across the county on I-81, 59 accidents were reported. In Madison County, a trace of snow and sleet fell on a thin coating of ice. Slick roads were reported countywide. In Page County, snow and sleet accumulations averaged around 2 inches. In Rappahannock and Fauquier Counties, only about 1/2 inch of snow and sleet fell. However, a coating of ice was reported on trees and power lines in Fauquier County. In Warren County, about 1.5 inches of snow and sleet was reported. In Clarke County, about 1 inch fell. In Loudoun County, accumulations ranged from a trace to 2 inches.