1,154 in Loudoun Without Power

By Tim Richardson

Originally published at 5:37 a.m., June 5, 2008
Updated at 4:27 p.m., June 6, 2008

RELATED STORY: Storms Leave Damage, Thousands Without Power

Two days after an outbreak of severe storms left close to one-third of Loudoun without power, hundreds of electricity customers were still in the dark Friday, although the number had fallen steadily.

Dominion Virginia Power said 1,154 customers in Loudoun were without electricity as of about 4:15 p.m. Friday. Company spokeswoman Le-Ha Anderson said the outages were scattered across the county.

About 33,700 of Dominion's 97,000 customers in Loudoun were without power Wednesday night.

As of 4:20 p.m. Friday, Dominion was reporting that about 9,829 customers were without power across Northern Virginia, which was down from a peak of about 298,000 customers Wednesday night (out of a total of nearly 795,000 customers).

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Severe Storms Rock Loudoun

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Police direct traffic at the intersection of West Market Street and North King Street in Leesburg during a power outage Wednesday afternoon caused by severe storms. (Tracy A. Woodward)

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High winds and rain swept through the Broadlands area along Southern Walk Plaza on Wednesday. (Tracy A. Woodward)

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A pedestrian runs for cover at the Broadlands Shopping Center as a second wave of storms moved over Loudoun. (Tracy A. Woodward)

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Storms decreased visibilities for motorists Wednesday along Belmont Ridge Road in Ashburn. (Tracy A. Woodward)

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A second wave of storms was beginning to pass over Loudoun County on Wednesday. This view is along Sycolin Road just off Belmont Ridge Road in Ashburn. (Tracy A. Woodward)

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Sterling resident Sam Ruedinger and her dog, Pretty, enjoyed the sun Thursday at Algonkian Regional Park. Ruedinger said that Pretty loves the heat. "She actually loves to sunbathe," she said. (Rachael Dickson)

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Dominion officials said more than 1,400 workers were in the field working to restore power across Northern Virginia. The company expected to have power restored to all customers by Saturday night.

"We have been making very good progress throughout the day," Dominion spokesman David Botkins said late Friday afternoon. "The numbers are down significantly."

Loudoun County Public Schools announced Thursday morning that seven elementary schools would be closed because the schools had no power. The schools were Aldie, Banneker, Middleburg, Lucketts, Waterford, Forest Grove and Sully. On Friday, only Waterford Elementary remained closed.

Thursday was the warmest day of the year in Loudoun as temperatures soared to the 90s in parts of the county, including Leesburg Executive Airport. The mercury reached 87 at Dulles International Airport at 3:59 p.m., making it the airport's warmest day of the year.

Sterling resident Sam Ruedinger and her dog, Pretty, were enjoying the sun Thursday at Algonkian Regional Park. Ruedinger was teaching Pretty how to swim and is trying to get her used to the water.

"She actually loves to sunbathe," Ruedinger said.

The National Weather Service office in Sterling said the high Saturday and Sunday should reach 99 degrees with a heat index as high as 110 degrees.

LoudounExtra.com reporter Rachael Dickson contributed to this report.

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