WASHINGTON – Look for a windy day ahead. The National Weather Service issued a wind advisory until 6 p.m. Thursday.
The advisory has utilities preparing for potential outages.
The winds will pick up Thursday morning and afternoon. They’re expected to be 20 mph to 25 mph, but could gust to 50 mph. Temperatures will be near 40 Thursday but will feel like it’s in the 20s with the wind chill.
Updated Outages
Maryland:
- PEPCO reports that Montgomery County has 300 customers without power due to downed tree with wires on the 200 block of Tulip Avenue in Takoma Park.
- BG&E reports at least 800 customers are without power in Anne Arundel and Prince George’s counties.
Virginia:
- Dominion reports 600 customers are without power in Fairfax County.
- Prince William county has 306 power outages.
- NOVEC has 400 customers without power.
Forecast
Thursday: Windy and partly cloudy. Near 40 with winds.
Thursday night: Near 30 with winds dying down.
Friday: Partly sunny with less wind. Lower 40s.
Saturday: Wintry mix will change to rain. Upper 30s to lower 40s.
Utilities prepare
Baltimore Gas and Electric is one of the utilities closely monitoring the situation.
BGE warns that for safety reasons, work involving bucket trucks could be delayed until the winds die down.
And, the utility says restoration work involving the removal of tree debris could take awhile.
Contacting power companies
Should the electricity go off, here are the the websites and phone numbers for area power companies:
- Pepco : 1-877-737-2662
- Dominion Power: 1-866-366-4357
- BGE: 1-877-778-2222
- Potomac Edison: 1-800- 255-3443
- NOVEC: 1-888-335- 0500
- SMECO: 1-877-747-6326
To get the numbers for power companies, text POWER to 91035.
Roads
Wednesday evening, the Maryland State Highway Administration issued a strong plea, asking drivers to stay off the roads early Thursday because of near-freezing temperatures and the possibility of icy roads and fog.
To the north and west of Washington, some roads are icy.
Highways close to D.C. remain slick, but not icy, according to WTOP Traffic.
Follow @WTOPTraffic and @WTOP on Twitter.
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