The Flash Flood Watch that took effect at noon today (Thursday) has now been upgraded to a Flash Flood Warning for Fairfax County.
The National Weather Service says an additional one to two inches of rain could fall in the affected areas, including Vienna, Falls Church, and Pimmit Hills, until 8:15 p.m.
Here is the full alert, which was issued at 5:05 p.m.:
* Flash Flood Warning for…
Central Fairfax County in northern Virginia…
Southeastern Loudoun County in northern Virginia…
The Western City of Alexandria in northern Virginia…
The City of Fairfax in northern Virginia…
The City of Falls Church in northern Virginia…* Until 815 PM EDT.
* At 505 PM EDT, Doppler radar indicated thunderstorms producing heavy rain across the warned area. Between 1 and 3 inches of rain have fallen. Flash flooding is ongoing or expected to begin shortly.
HAZARD…Life threatening flash flooding. Thunderstorms producing flash flooding.
SOURCE…Doppler radar.
IMPACT…Life threatening flash flooding of creeks and streams, urban areas, highways, streets and underpasses.
The NWS advises against traveling, noting that the majority of flood deaths occur in vehicles.
“A Flash Flood Warning means that flooding is imminent or occurring,” the NWS said. “If you are in the warned area move to higher ground immediately. Residents living along streams and creeks should take immediate precautions to protect life and property.”
The National Weather Service has issued a Flash Flood Watch for the D.C. region, including Fairfax County, that will take effect at noon today (Thursday).
Set to expire at midnight, the advisory warns of the potential for two to four inches of rain to fall within a short period of time:
* From Noon EDT today through this evening
* A cold front will drop southward into the area today. This front will become the focus for slow moving thunderstorms this afternoon and evening. Because of the slow motion and ample moisture in the atmosphere, storms may drop 2 to 4 inches of rain a short period of time, resulting in flash flooding.
* Heavy rainfall in a short amount of time can result in rapid rises of water in streams, creeks, and urban areas.
The Baltimore-Washington NWS says the Flash Flood Watch is primarily in effect for the the northern and central parts of the region, but flooding could occur almost anywhere, and the risk could extend to tomorrow (Friday).
“A Flash Flood Watch means that conditions may develop that lead to Flash Flooding. Flash Flooding is a very dangerous situation,” the NWS said. “You should monitor later forecasts and be prepared to take action should Flash Flood Warnings be issued.”
A Flash Flood Watch is now in effect across portions of the area for this afternoon and this evening. Slow moving thunderstorms may produce several inches of rain, resulting in flooding. pic.twitter.com/qgWEunr4sp
— NWS Baltimore-Washington (@NWS_BaltWash) June 10, 2021
Updated at 4:35 p.m. — Vienna and Falls Church have now been added to the Severe Thunderstorm Warning, which has been extended to 5:15 p.m. today.
Earlier: Fairfax County and other areas in Northern Virginia have been put under a Severe Thunderstorm Warning on top of a Severe Thunderstorm Watch that will be in effect until 10 p.m.
Here is the full alert from the National Weather Service, which is scheduled to last until 4:45 p.m.:
At 405 PM EDT, a severe thunderstorm was located near Warrenton, moving northeast at 30 mph.
HAZARD…60 mph wind gusts.
SOURCE…Radar indicated.
IMPACT…Damaging winds will cause some trees and large branches to fall. This could injure those outdoors, as well as damage homes and vehicles. Roadways may become blocked by downed trees. Localized power outages are possible. Unsecured light objects may become projectiles.
* Locations impacted include…
Centreville, Reston, Annandale, South Riding, Herndon, Fairfax, Mantua, Dulles International Airport, Burke, Linton Hall, Oakton, Sterling, Chantilly, Merrifield, Bull Run, Haymarket, Arcola, Manassas, Sudley and Manassas Park.PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…
For your protection move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a building.
Updated at 4:10 p.m. — The National Weather Service has now upgraded Fairfax County to a Severe Thunderstorm Warning, advising people to move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a building.
In effect until 4:45 p.m., the warning was issued at 4:01 p.m. after a severe thunderstorm was spotted near Middleburg. The storm was reportedly moving east at 30 miles per hour.
Here is the full alert:
The National Weather Service in Sterling Virginia has issued a Severe Thunderstorm Warning for…
Southeastern Loudoun County in northern Virginia…
Northwestern Fairfax County in northern Virginia…
Northeastern Fauquier County in northern Virginia…
Northwestern Prince William County in northern Virginia…* Until 445 PM EDT.
* At 400 PM EDT, a severe thunderstorm was located near Middleburg, or 8 miles west of Brambleton, moving east at 30 mph.
HAZARD…60 mph wind gusts.
SOURCE…Radar indicated.
IMPACT…Damaging winds will cause some trees and large branches to fall. This could injure those outdoors, as well as damage homes and vehicles. Roadways may become blocked by downed trees. Localized power outages are possible. Unsecured light objects may become projectiles.
* Locations impacted include…
Reston, South Riding, Herndon, Vienna, Broadlands, Lowes Island, Brambleton, Dulles International Airport, Ashburn, Oakton, Sterling, Chantilly, Wolf Trap, Great Falls, Countryside, Middleburg, Arcola, Belmont, Aldie and Sterling Park.
Earlier: Fairfax County is currently under a Severe Thunderstorm Watch, with scattered showers anticipated throughout the D.C. area this afternoon.
The alert will be in effect until 8 p.m. The National Weather Service says that a thunderstorm could potentially hit after 5 p.m.
“Some storms could be severe, with large hail and damaging winds,” the NWS forecast for Tysons says.
With a 60% chance of precipitation, between a tenth and a quarter of an inch of rain could fall this afternoon, and another quarter to half inch could come in the evening.
[5/4/21 at 2:35 PM]
⚠️Fairfax County is currently under a Severe Thunderstorm Watch ⛈️ until 8 PM
🚨Know your alerts: Watch (be prepared) vs. Warning (take action)
🏫Identify your safe place: inside, interior, no windows#VaWx #ReadyFairfax #BePrepared pic.twitter.com/ADS53eMd5E— Ready Fairfax (@ReadyFairfax) May 4, 2021
Map via National Weather Service
Wind Advisory in Effect — The National Weather Service has issued a Wind Advisory for the D.C. area, including Fairfax County, starting at noon today (Friday). In effect until 2 a.m. Saturday, the alert says to expect northwest winds of 20 to 30 miles per hour with gusts up to 55 miles per hour. Gusts could blow around unsecured objects and bring down tree limbs, potentially leading to power outages. [NWS]
McLean Community Center Gets New Executive Director — The MCC Governing Board has chosen Daniel Phoenix Singh as the center’s next executive director was to succeed George Sachs, who is retiring on May 7. Singh’s selection to the position, which has an annual salary of $150,000, was effective April 12 but not publicly announced until the board’s meeting on Wednesday (April 28). [MCC]
Help Tysons Plan for COVID-19 Recovery — The Tysons Partnership is conducting a community survey until May 14 to gauge people’s interest in transit, dining, shopping, office work, and other activities affected by the pandemic. A follow-up to a similar survey from last summer, the results are expected to be released at the end of the month and “will be significant to recovery efforts,” President and CEO Sol Glasner told Tysons Reporter. [Tysons Partnership]
Police Body Cameras Coming to Falls Church — The City of Falls Church City will use grant funds and an anticipated $650,000 surplus in the current fiscal year to establish a body camera program for its police department. City Manager Wyatt Shields told the News-Press that the cameras should arrive in the next couple months. A Use of Force Committee recommended that the city evaluate the feasibility of body cameras in February. [Falls Church News-Press]
Tysons Social Tavern Reopens With Outdoor Patio — After a year-long closure, Tysons Social Tavern is back with operating hours from 4-10 p.m., seven days a week, and a new outdoor patio. The bar took over the O’Malley’s Pub spot at the DoubleTree Hilton in Tysons two years ago. [Tysons Social Tavern]
The National Weather Service has issued a Freeze Warning for Fairfax County, as still-strong winds bring an unseasonable chill to the region.
Issued around noon, the warning will take effect at 2 a.m. tomorrow (Friday) and last until 9 a.m. in parts of Northern Virginia and Maryland. According to the forecast for Tysons, tonight will bring west wind speeds of seven to 13 miles per hour, with gusts as high as 25 miles per hour.
Here is the full alert from the NWS:
…FREEZE WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 2 AM TO 9 AM EDT FRIDAY…
* WHAT…Sub-freezing temperatures around 30 degrees.
* WHERE…Portions of northern Maryland and northern and central Virginia near and west of Interstate 95, and portions of the eastern West Virginia panhandle.
* WHEN…From 2 AM to 9 AM EDT Friday.
* IMPACTS…Frost and freeze conditions will kill crops, other sensitive vegetation and possibly damage unprotected outdoor plumbing.
For precautionary measures, the NWS advises taking steps to protect plants and outdoor pipes from the cold.
“To prevent freezing and possible bursting of outdoor water pipes they should be wrapped, drained, or allowed to drip slowly,” the NWS said. “Those that have in-ground sprinkler systems should drain them and cover above-ground pipes to protect them from freezing.”
Image via NWS
Wind Advisory in Effect Today — A wind advisory will be in effect today for the D.C. area, including Fairfax County, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Winds could reach speeds of 20 to 30 miles per hour with gusts up to 50 miles per hour. Gusts could blow around unsecured objects and result in fallen tree limbs or power disruptions. [National Weather Service, Fairfax County Office of Emergency Management/Twitter]
Northam Plans to Speed Up Marijuana Legalization — “Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam is expected to ask the legislature to legalize the adult possession of an ounce or less of marijuana beginning on July 1, according to several sources with knowledge of the administration’s ongoing discussions with lawmakers. Lawmakers passed legislation last month that wouldn’t take effect until Jan. 1, 2024.” [VPM]
Falls Church Narrows Down Possible New School Names — Committees tasked with selecting new names for the city’s elementary and high schools will present five recommendations each to the Falls Church City School Board by April 9. The groups have whittled hundreds of suggestions down to 18 options for the high school and 53 for the middle school. The school board will make the final decisions on May 13. [Falls Church News-Press]
Greater Washington Partnership Envisions Regional Train System — “An alliance of the Washington area’s top chief executives is pushing for Maryland and Virginia commuter trains to cross jurisdictions to provide service that would be more frequent and more interconnected…It could be achieved within a quarter-century, said the group, which has rallied support from transit advocates, the region’s passenger railroads and public- and private-sector groups.” [The Washington Post]
Satellite Telecommunications Company Moves Into Tysons — SpaceLink announced earlier this week that it has established a headquarters office in Tysons. The company, which also operates in Silicon Valley and Huntsville, Alabama, is developing a “network of satellites in medium Earth orbit that will provide secure, continuous, high-bandwidth communications between its clients’ low Earth orbit spacecraft and the ground.” [Virginia Business]
Fairfax County Sees Dip in Unemployment Rate — Fairfax County’s jobless rate dropped almost half a percent between December 2020 and January 2021, according to data from the Virginia Employment Commission. However, unemployment rates throughout Northern Virginia are still more than double pre-pandemic numbers. [Sun Gazette]
Cases over Bijan Ghaisar’s Death Stall in Court — A federal judge assigned to oversee a criminal case and civil lawsuit against U.S. Park Police officers for the 2017 fatal shooting of McLean resident Bijan Ghaisar “has made no moves to hold any hearings on the cases or provide a pretrial briefing and discovery schedule.” The officers were indicted by a Fairfax County grand jury in October but are seeking to have the cases moved to federal court. [The Washington Post]
Statewide Tornado Drill Scheduled for Today — Virginia will conduct a tornado drill at 9:45 a.m. today (Tuesday) as part of its first-ever Virginia Severe Weather Awareness Week, which started yesterday and will last through March 19. The alert will be issued through NOAA Weather Radio stations as well as local radio, TV, and cable outlets. [Fairfax County Emergency Information]
Falls Church City Council Gives Initial Approval to New Noise Ordinance — The city council voted 7-0 to give a preliminary “OK” to a measure that would permit up to 75 decibels of sound up to 10:30 p.m. in business and industrial areas on Friday and Saturday nights. Dates for a public hearing and final approval have not yet been scheduled. [Falls Church News-Press]
Fairfax County Chairman Criticizes Proposed Metro Cuts — Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay says that Metro’s proposed fiscal year 2022 budget would be “frustrating and could be harmful in both the short- and long-term to Metro and our Northern Virginia economy,” especially in Tysons. Federal relief funds are expected to stave off the cuts, but they have not been officially taken off the table yet. The public comment period ends today at 5 p.m. [Inside NoVA]
James Madison High School Kicks off Renovation — “We have officially kicked off renovation season! Fencing was installed in our main parking lot today. Changed traffic patterns and relocated parking spaces are just the start of what spring will bring us!” [@JamesMadisonHS/Twitter]
McLean Private School Rallies Support for Food Drive — Students, parents, faculty, and staff at The Langley School all chipped in for a three-week food drive to support the D.C. nonprofit So Others Might Eat. The effort produced more than $5,000 in monetary contributions and more than 2,000 donated non-perishable food items. [Sun Gazette]
The National Weather Service has issued a Red Flag Warning for Fairfax County and the rest of the D.C. region today, signaling that weather conditions could breed fires.
The warning will be in effect from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. It replaces a Fire Weather Watch that had been issued yesterday and was scheduled to begin at noon today.
“A Red Flag Warning means that critical fire weather conditions are either occurring now, or will shortly,” the NWS says. “A combination of strong winds, low relative humidity, and warm temperatures can contribute to extreme fire behavior.”
Here is more from the alert:
The National Weather Service in Baltimore MD/Washington has issued a Red Flag Warning for low humidity and gusty winds, which is in effect from 11 AM this morning to 6 PM EST this evening. The Fire Weather Watch is no longer in effect.
* WINDS…Southwest 15 to 20 mph with gusts up to 30 mph.
* RELATIVE HUMIDITY…20 to 30 percent.
* IMPACTS…Critical fire weather conditions are likely to develop today. All outdoor burning is discouraged, as fires could rapidly spread and become uncontrollable.
* FUEL MOISTURE…5 to 8 percent for fine fuels.
Virginia already prohibits open-air burning before 4 p.m. for fires that are within 300 feet of the woods or dry grass which can carry the fire to the woods. The 4 p.m. Law takes effect every year from Feb. 15 to April 30, since the combination of elevated winds and low humidity traditionally results in increased numbers of fires, according to the Virginia Department of Forestry.
“You are allowed to burn between 4 p.m and midnight as long as you take proper care and precaution and attend your fire at all times,” the Department of Forestry says.
Evidence of the heightened risk of fires was on display last night in Vienna, where a house fire caused by improperly discarded smoking materials resulted in $116,400 in damages, the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department reported.
“These conditions are ripe for an improperly discarded cigarette/smoking material, thrown into mulch or other brush, to spark a significant fire that can then spread to homes and buildings,” the FCFRD said. “Many times, these fires have the potential to spread to homes and buildings that are close by.”
The fire department says cigarettes and other smoking materials should be discarded in an ashtray or bucket of sand, and butts and ashes should be completely doused with water before being thrown away. Cigarettes should never be disposed of in mulch, shrubbery, or potted plant soil, which can be highly flammable in dry weather.
. @NWS_BaltWash has issued a Red Flag Warning Today 11 AM-6 PM! Strong winds (gusts up to 30 mph), low relative humidity, & warm temps may promote rapid spread of outside fires. Don’t Dispose Of Cigarettes In Bushes/Mulch! Sink It Or Soak It! More: https://t.co/4qI4ClY984 #FCFRD pic.twitter.com/TovFhAj0Mv
— Fairfax County Fire/Rescue (@ffxfirerescue) March 11, 2021
Fairfax County and the rest of the D.C. area could experience wind gusts of up to 50 miles per hour this afternoon.
The National Weather Service issued a Wind Advisory for the region last night that will be in effect from 2-6 p.m. today (Tuesday).
“Gusty winds could blow around unsecured objects,” the NWS said. “Tree limbs could be blown down. A few power outages may result.”
The Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department advises securing outdoor objects and keeping electronic devices charged.
Wind Advisory for Fairfax County today from 2 PM-6PM. Winds 20-30 mph w/gusts up to 50 mph. Winds could blow tree limbs down and unsecured objects around. Power outages may result. Secure outside objects. Keep electronic devices charged. #FCFRD #weather https://t.co/bB46NZAHdV
— Fairfax County Fire/Rescue (@ffxfirerescue) February 23, 2021
The wind advisory comes as refrozen ice lingering from yesterday’s snow and sleet wreak havoc on local roads. The Virginia State Police reported shortly after 7 a.m. that its troopers had cleared 13 traffic crashes since approximately 4:15 a.m. and were in the process of investigating another 32 crashes in the Northern Virginia region.
“The majority of the crashes have involved only damage to vehicles. No fatal traffic crashes reported,” VSP Public Relations Director Corinne Geller said, advising drivers to slow down and watch for black ice this morning, especially on overpasses and bridges.
In Fairfax County, first responders were on the scene of a two-vehicle crash on Leesburg Pike over Columbia Pike in the Bailey’s Crossroads area of Falls Church around 7:45 a.m. Ice blocking the westbound left lane further contributed to travel delays.
Staff Photo by Jay Westcott
