More than 13,000 people were still without power at the end of the workweek following violent thunderstorms Thursday evening, said a Dominion Virginia Power spokesman Dan Genest.
Genest said that power should be restored by sometime Saturday afternoon.
Severe thunderstorms, however, are expected to continue throughout Saturday with additional heavy rainfall into Sunday and more rain possible Monday. The National Weather Service has also issued a flash flood watch that will remain in effect until Sunday morning. These storms could lead to additional power outages and make restoration of service more difficult.
At the peak of the outage, more than 59,000 people in Northern Virginiawere affected, Genest said. Some 13,700 people were still without power, he said, as of Friday morning.
Residents of Springfield, Alexandria, Herndon, Woodbridge and Warrenton were among those most affected by the storm — with Springfield being the epicenter for power loss. As of Friday, 2,260 people in Alexandria were still without power. More than 2,400 people in Herndon, 2,800 in Woodbridge, 1,000 in Warrenton and 5,000 in Springfield were also without lights.
Genest said the outages were likely caused by a bolt of lightning hitting equipment or from trees falling on power lines to due high winds.
Summer tips
» The Center for Disease Control and Prevention recommends drinking a glass of water every 15 minutes to stay hydrated if air conditioning is out.
» Wearing loose, thin clothing also is recommended to beat the heat.
» The center also warns about approaching down power lines, and recommends calling a utility company if one is found.
