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Storm rolls through DC area leaving downed trees, power outages

WASHINGTON — A fast-moving storm swept through the D.C. area Wednesday afternoon, leaving downed trees and power outages in its path. The severe thunderstorm watch and warnings for the region have been canceled after they brought dangerous and damaging winds and rain. Wind gusts reached up to 60 mph in parts of the region, reports the National Weather Service.

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A wind gust and damage map from the National Weather Service. (Courtesy NWS)
[related_gallery align=”right”]There were several reports of downed trees after the storm. WTOP’s Dave Dildine witnessed a large, dead tree come down across outbound Suitland Parkway between Suitland Road and Forestville Road around 2 p.m. No one was injured, but the cleanup temporarily closed the roadway. Wind knocked a large oak tree into a house in Forest Glen, Maryland. There were no injuries, but the people living there have been displaced. Another came down on a home on Parkwood Court in Kensington. An occupant was in the lower level at the time and no one was injured. The family has been displaced because of the damage. Mark Seagraves, with WTOP’s broadcast news partners at NBC Washington, reports a large tree down in Silver Spring. No one was injured, he reports.

After-school activities at Alexandria, Stafford and Prince George’s counties were canceled because of the weather. Although rain rocked the region, D.C. tied its record high for the day at 80 degrees.

Overnight weather

A wind advisory has been issued for just about all of the D.C. area until 10 a.m. Thursday. Wind gusts will likely reach 40 to 50 mph at times Wednesday night into Thursday morning. Also, overnight temperatures will fall into the 40s for lows, said StormTeam 4 Meteorologist Amelia Draper, causing for some extreme weather whiplash after the near-record highs of Wednesday. After some scattered showers through the evening hours, skies will clear overnight.

Latest power outages

Thousands of D.C. area residents were in the dark Wednesday. Below is a map of the latest power outage numbers:

Visit our weather page for the latest updates, follow us on Twitter @WTOP, and listen to live weather reports every 10 minutes on 103.5 FM or via our online stream.

What should be in your emergency kit

Every home should have an emergency kit on hand for when storms and power outages occur. WTOP recommends you print it out this list ahead foul weather and power outages. Supplies to have on hand:
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