Wild DC weather shuts down nation’s capital early, causing traffic and travel nightmares
Heather Hunter
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The federal Office of Personnel Management ordered federal employees to leave the office early on Monday amid Washington, D.C., area storm warnings. The severe storms covered most of the area with a tornado watch through 9 p.m., causing many places in the Beltway area to close early or adjust hours.
“Employees should depart 2 hours earlier than their normal departure time and may request Unscheduled Leave to depart prior to their staggered departure time. All employees Must Depart no later than 3:00 at which time Federal offices are Closed,” OPM said.
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The National Weather Service warned of “dangerous storms with widespread very strong winds, large hail and a few tornadoes.” The weather service issued a Level 4 out of 5 risk for severe storms for the first time in about a decade.
Commuters heading home early found the “not visible” roads to be a travel nightmare in the torrential rain.
“The roads are not visible here in Loudoun County. Cars are pulling over and I’m sitting in an underpass. There’s debris and branches on the road. This is not safe guys,” one woman said on social media.
https://twitter.com/maybush/status/1688660014481719296
She added, “It’s heading towards the stadium.”
Fans of the singer P!nk huddled outside of the Nationals Park on Monday afternoon as the clouds and rain moved in over the venue. Many wondered on social media whether their concert would get canceled.
https://twitter.com/melissaykim/status/1688668409657995265
Despite the severe weather, Nationals Park announced the concert would go on “rain or shine.”
First lady Jill Biden had planned an education initiative event at the White House, but the event was canceled due to the weather.
Many flights going in and out of Reagan National Airport, Washington Dulles International Airport, and Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport were affected. At least 10 airports were grounded due to the storms, and according to Flight Aware, more than 1,200 flights were canceled.
“Absolute nightmare trying to fly out from the East Coast,” Fox meteorologist Steve Bender said.
https://twitter.com/SteveBenderWx/status/1688661163670749184
At around 5 p.m., the storm clouded over the sky of the nation’s capital in stunning formation, showing an ominous “shelf cloud” looming over the Washington Monument.
https://twitter.com/dcstormchaser/status/1688666411764228096 https://twitter.com/foxweather/status/1688669352877322240
The severe winds of the storm caused power outages. As of around 6 p.m., more than 46,000 customers were without power in northern Virginia.
In Maryland and Washington, D.C., over 2,000 Pepco clients were without power due to the storms.
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By 6:45 p.m., the storm had rolled over to the Annapolis and Baltimore region.
In Hagerstown, Maryland, large hail was reported Monday afternoon.