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Strong Saturday Storm in Reston

Wind and rain blow through, but Reston spared from tornado that touched down in Fairfax County

 

Update: 5:30 p.m. Saturday - Traffic has been grounded at all three DC-area airports.

Dominion reports 108,000 customers without power. To find specific areas without power, visit: http://outagemap.dom.com/DomComFlexOutageViewer/index.html.

To report an outage, call Call 1-866-DOM-HELP (1-866-366-4357).

Original story: A strong storm moved through Reston about 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, bringing with it rain and winds in excess of 65 miles per hour.

The storm, which lasted about a half hour, was similar to June's Derecho, which brought 70 mph winds and left thousands without power for days.

Saturday's damage was not as severe, but there were many trees down around Reston. Visitors to the Great Grapes! wine festival at Reston Town Center ran for cover.

A tornado reportedly touched down near Bailey's Crossroads shortly before 4 p.m. There are reports of damaged planes at Dulles International Airport. Dominion Virginia Power reported at 4:15 p.m. that 90,000 customers were without power.

Reston Patch will keep you updated on power outages and damage reports.

A year ago to the day - Sept. 8 - there was severe damage around town as more than six inches of rain fell in a few hours, flooding Reston's Park and Ride lot, among other places.

The good news: the 90-degree temperatures dropped about 15 degrees, and Sunday is supposed to be cool and sunny.

Have any storm damage photos? Upload them to this story.

Related Topics: Fairfax County, Reston Town Center, and Weather

Kristen

5:06 pm on Saturday, September 8, 2012

Dang looks like South Shore Rd. got walloped! Sorry and hope everyone is OK

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Kristen

5:17 pm on Saturday, September 8, 2012

Some of the newer pictures look like possibly even a tornado - esp the one with the tree trunk snapped in half? Wonder if one was confirmed in Reston??

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Karen Goff

7:25 pm on Saturday, September 8, 2012

NWS says they have not confirmed one. Doesn't mean it wasn't one, but it takes a few days of investigation to know for sure.

J. H.

6:18 pm on Saturday, September 8, 2012

Tree on Scandia circle hit home and other trees down in Bentana Woods West and Bentana. Plus trees down behind Park Glen down again

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Stu Gibson

6:28 pm on Saturday, September 8, 2012

South Shore looks Iike a combat zone, much worse than the derecho.

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LD

10:10 am on Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Why hasn't there been more info on the damage? I heard there are a few homes that have been condemned.

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Karen Goff

10:14 am on Tuesday, September 11, 2012

LD - we have run three stories on the storm and the damage. The cleanup is underway and almost done. If they are condemned (we have no proof of that just now) it just means they are damaged - it is not a permanent situation - I am sure the homeowners all have insurance and are being temporarily relocated and the homes will be repaired.

LD

4:12 pm on Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Thanks Karen. I look to Patch for my local news & often cite it as my reference.
Talk at the office about the condemned homes took me surprise since I hadn't read about it on Patch. P.S. I look forward to the tree story coming up! Thanks for all you do.

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Karen Goff

5:08 pm on Tuesday, September 11, 2012

You are welcome. We also have an updated story on cleanups and repair. Indeed, at least one home on Scandia look uninhabitable for now. Check it out here: http://patch.com/A-xFwR

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