Appalachian Power and Dominion Energy report tens of thousands of Virginia customers are without power today, the result of the strong winds expected to stay with us into tomorrow morning. Utilities say crews will not be able to make repairs in some cases where wind gusts remain dangerously high.
The Virginia Department of Emergency Management reports more than 400,000 Virginians were without power Friday afternoon, the result of widespread outages caused by the strong winds that won’t leave any time soon. Major utilities say some repairs will have to wait, because it’s dangerous in places to raise bucket trucks.
Among the traffic issues created by the strong winds — a tractor trailer was blown over today on the Route 29 bypass in Amherst County. It happened on the northbound side a little north of Route 130, blocking the northbound lanes.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ High winds are causing power outages, school and work closures and traffic problems across Virginia. The winds are part of a major nor’easter that was pounding the East Coast on Friday, also packing heavy rain and intermittent snow further north. The Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel was closed to all traffic Friday morning and into the afternoon. Some roads were blocked by downed trees, and local media report a 6-year-old boy was in critical condition after a tree fell on his home in Chester. A ground stop was ordered at Dulles International Airport around noon Friday after 70 mph (113 km/h) gusts forced the temporary evacuation of a control tower. Hundreds of flights were canceled at airports throughout the region. Both Dominion Energy and Appalachian Power were reporting widespread outages.