USA: Flights cancelled, over 1 million people without electricity as storm hits Washington DC

A series of devastatingly powerful storms, including potential tornadoes, hail, and lightning, wreaked havoc across the eastern United States on Monday, resulting in thousands of US flights being cancelled or delayed and leaving more than 1.1 million households and businesses without power.

The Washington DC region was one of the areas heavily impacted, experiencing torrential rains from 5:00 PM and dark grey skies as a sign of the approaching severe weather.

The National Weather Service issued flood warnings until Tuesday morning and a tornado watch alert that extended until 9:00 PM for the greater DC region.

“There is a significant threat for damaging and locally destructive hurricane-force winds, along with the potential for large hail and tornadoes, even strong tornadoes,” a special Weather Service statement read.

Warnings and massive tornado watches have been issued over ten states, from Tennessee to New York, impacting more than 29.5 million people under a tornado watch. The Washington-Baltimore region was particularly affected, and massive tornado warnings were issued throughout the area, the National Weather Service statement said.

As a consequence of the storm’s widespread impact, over 7,000 U.S. flights were delayed, with nearly 1,500 cancellations recorded by late Monday afternoon, flight tracking company FlightAware reported.

The Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport experienced a substantial number – almost one-fifth – of cancellations as it was still recovering from delays caused by Sunday’s storms. Flights in and out of major cities such as New York City, Philadelphia, Washington, Charlotte, and Atlanta were expected to be affected, leading the Federal Aviation Administration to reroute aircraft around the approaching storms.

President Joe Biden’s scheduled departure on a four-day vacation to Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah was delayed by 90 minutes due to the weather conditions.

Additionally, a cybersecurity back-to-school event at the White House, which was to be attended by First Lady Jill Biden, education secretaries Miguel Cardona and Alejandro Mayorkas, school leaders, teachers, and education technology providers, was postponed.

One of most significant severe weather events in Mid-Atlantic: expert on Washington storms

The storm’s timing raised further concerns as the late afternoon and early evening hours were predicted to be particularly hazardous. Federal employees were sent home early to avoid being on the roads during the severe weather conditions. An announcement from the Office of Personnel Management mandated all non-essential emergency employees to leave before 3:00 PM when all federal offices were shuttered.

The impending storm seems to be one of the most significant recent severe weather events to hit the Mid-Atlantic, National Weather Service meteorologist Chris Strong said in a Facebook Live briefing.

“This does look to be one of the most impactful severe weather events across the Mid-Atlantic that we have had in some time,” he said.

By early evening, more than 1.1 million consumers in states such as Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, West Virginia, and Virginia were left without electricity. Some utility companies reported extensive damage and restoration efforts were expected to take several days.

The Knoxville Utilities Board reported ‘widespread and extensive’ damage over its service region in Tennessee, while a row of utility poles collapsed near Westminster, Maryland, according to the news outlet WJLA-TV.

In Virginia’s Loudon County, which is just west of the DC area, almost 15,000 people were without electricity, energy company Dominion Energy said. On the other hand, almost 2,000 people were affected by power cuts in the Washington DC area and its suburbs, power company Pepco said.