Power Restored to Most of McLean, Irene Moving Through FFX

11:30pm. The majority of McLean residents have had their power restored.

A little more than 100 neighbors remain without power. The largest concentration continues to be around Georgetown Pike just inside the Beltway.

10:39pm: Latest Fairfax County Govt Update: Hurricane Irene continues to impact Fairfax County at 10pm. Heavy bands of rain and squalls are affecting our area right now. Residents are urged to stay home and off the roads due to heavy rain, high winds and the possibility of downed wires and trees.

The National Weather Service predicts an additional 3 inches of rain in the county by 2 a.m. Sunday morning. Based on that information the county anticipates:

Significant road flooding may be expected in the Huntington area.
The BelleView /New Alexandria areas of the county are expected to experience localized street flooding.

However, no structural flooding is anticipated.  County staff is monitoring closely.

A local emergency has been declared for Fairfax County. Residents should not be alarmed to evacuate or take other actions than what’s already been shared. All roads designated with signs as a “snow emergency route” are now being enforced – it is unlawful to park any vehicle on an emergency route or to impede traffic . The emergency routes can be found at http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/emergency/emergency-routes.htm.

The Fairfax County Police Department will remove any vehicle that is stalled, stuck, parked or abandoned on an emergency route. The owner or operator of a vehicle that is moved will be responsible for the towing fee, as well as a fine.

10 pm. A thoughtful neighbor shared: At about 9pm tonight (8/28), I was driving down Chain Bridge Rd/123 to make a left on Chain Bridge when a black lab mix darted out into the road. I am sure someone is looking for their pet and is likely very concerned considering the storm.

I pulled over and tried to get the dog to come over to me, but he/she seemed skittish and ran into the shrubs on the hill that's on the left. Hope this is helpful for someone.

Update 9:47pm. More than 1,000 McLean neighbors living near the Arlington County line have now lost power.

Hurricane Irene continues moving through Fairfax.

Stay Inside.

Update: 9:32pm. More than 100 McLean address are without power, according to Dominion Power website.

About 80 homes located around Georgetown Pike just inside the Beltway are the largest cluster of neighbors without power.

There are scattered outages around Tysons Corner and just north of the Arlington County line.

Nearly 8,000 Dominion Power customers in Fairfax lack power and nearly three-quarters of a million across the state.

Update 8:22pm. Hurricane Irene is impacting Fairfax County, according to the latest update from the  Fairfax County emergency office.

The county is under a flash flood warning until 11pm and remains under a tropical storm warning. 

The National Weather Service predicts the major rain line will generally be around I-95 – west will experience less rain then east of the interstate. 

Please remain safe inside, away from windows and glass doors; avoid travel if possible. Road conditions are deteriorating. Please drive safely and do not drive through flooded roads. It will be dark during the height of this storm, so please be careful while driving if you need to. 

Our highest tidal surge in the county will be around 7:30 p.m.

Street flooding is expected around 7:30 p.m. in the Huntington area of Fairfax County. This coincides with high tide. County stormwater staff is on site. There are no reports of house flooding at this time. If you haven’t already, you should move cars to higher ground. 

Thousands in the county are without power right now. 

What Should You Do? 

• Stay inside, away from windows and glass doors.  

• Plan to be self-sustaining for at least three days – have food that doesn’t need refrigeration and one gallon of water per person per day.  Have a battery-powered and/or hand-crank radio and extra batteries ready so you can hear weather information and instructions from officials when power goes out.  

• If using a portable generator, residents are urged to run them outside the home. The primary hazards to avoid when using generators include carbon monoxide poisoning, electric shock and fire. To avoid the danger of electrical shock, portable generators should never be connected to building wiring systems.  If you must use a portable generator, connect appliances directly to the generator.  

• Avoid using lighted candles. Flashlights are safer when the power is out.  

• Avoid loose or dangling electrical wires. All wires should be considered live. Even wires that normally would not hurt you, such as telephone or cable wires, could have come in contact with energized wires or equipment.  

Update: 7:55pm. An estimated 4,500 Dominion Power customers in Fairfax are without power. An undetermined numbers of McLean neighbors who live near the Arlington County line are among those without power.

Also there are pockets of outages just north of the Beltway along the Potomac.

Update: 5:10pm. Dominion Power has restored power in parts of McLean inside the Beltway.

McLean Patch, one of the affected customers, is delighted.

Update: 4:26 pm. Fairfax County government says the most severe weather should be between 1800 hours  (6:00PM) to 0200 hours (2:00 am)on Sunday, according to a note from Dranesville Supervisor John Foust.

The county's emergency offices also forecast:

• Rain total for the storm should be from 3-5 inches.

• Wind gusts predicted to be a maximum to 50 mph
  Tidal Potomac storm surge 1-2 feet and should be the max at low tide.  This means the threat to New Alexandria is very low. 

• There is no significant damage or weather related incidents at this.

An estimated 50 McLean neighbors appear to be without power. There are two clusters near the Arlington county line. There are two other clusters inside the Beltway east of Tysons Corner.

Be safe neighbors.

Update: 4 p.m. All the power outages are in the western parts of McLean inside the Beltway.

Dominion Power website says restoration of power by 5 p.m. Stay tuned.

Update 2:45p.m. Parts of McLean have lost power. The Dominion Power map shows nearly 1,500 Fairfax customers without power.

McLean Patch lost power about 40 minutes ago. We're now working out of Greenberry's our favorite coffee shop in downtown McLean.

The Dominion Power website showed huge outages all along the east coast of the state concentrated of course in southeastern Virginia around Norfolk and Hampton Roads.

Stay tuned.

UPDATE 12:15 PM. Hurricane Irene is battering eastern North Carolina and heading into southern Virginia now, with rain already well into Fairfax County and McLean.

Fairfax County is under a Tropical storm warning. Tropical storm conditions are spreading northward along the Delmarva coast, the National Hurricane Center said in its latest advisory.

The Category 1 hurricane has sustained winds of 85 miles per hour and is moving northeast at 15 miles per hour, according to the 11 a.m. ET advisory.

Neighbors you really don't want to go out this afternoon unless it's an absolute emergency. Be safe.

Update 10:30 am: VDOT Plans.  Will mobilize skeleton crews beginning at 7am Saturday.  Tree crews will be in place with high mobilization by noon Saturday, according to a note from Dranesville Supervisor John Foust.

Traffic Field Operations:  Crews are being mobilized for Traffic Signals, Signs, ITS Devices, Highway Lighting and Communications.  Skeleton crews will begin at noon on Saturday and will be at full shifts by 7pm. 

NOVA Augmented Call Center:  will begin Saturday 10am and work until call volume dies down.  Sunday 8am-8pm or until call volume decreases.  Please call 1-800-FOR-ROAD to report any issues.

 
Saturday 6 am.  The National Weather Service. The center of Hurricane Irene was located about 330 miles south of Washington D.C. Storm intensity was 90 mph. 

Irene will be moving up the coast today...and will be moving north of the area on Sunday. The period of worst conditions will be from late saturday afternoon through early sunday. gusty northwest winds will continue through the day on sunday.

When making decisions...do not focus on the exact forecast track. Small changes in the forecast track will have implications on all elements of the forecast.

UPDATE: THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE : AT 5 PM EDT...THE CENTER OF HURRICANE IRENE WAS LOCATED  ABOUT 500 MILES SOUTH OF WASHINGTON DC...STORM INTENSITY WAS 100 MPH. .

SITUATION OVERVIEW... WHEN MAKING DECISIONS...DO NOT FOCUS ON THE EXACT FORECAST TRACK. SMALL CHANGES IN THE FORECAST TRACK WILL HAVE IMPLICATIONS ON ALL ELEMENTS OF THE FORECAST. IRENE WILL BE MOVING UP THE COAST TODAY AND SATURDAY...

AND WILL BE MOVING NORTH OF THE AREA ON SUNDAY. THE PERIOD OF WORST CONDITIONS WILL BE FROM LATE SATURDAY THROUGH EARLY SUNDAY. GUSTY NORTHWEST WINDS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE DAY ON SUNDAY.

The National Weather Center. At 6 am edt...the center of hurricane irene was located near latitude 29.3n...longitude 77.2w. this was about 660 miles south of Washington DC...or about 690 miles south of Baltimore Md

Storm intensity was 110 mph. Situation overview... tropical storm warnings have been issued for Fairfax and Washington Metro area.

 For those under a warning...now is the time to rush to completion preparations for the protection of life and property.

 Evacuate if directed to do so by local officials...or if your home is vulnerable to high winds or flooding.

 At ports...docks...and marinas...urgently complete prescribed preparations according to your emergency operations plan for tropical cyclones.

Today: Scattered showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 3pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 88. North wind around 6 mph becoming east. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.

Tonight: A slight chance of showers before 11pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 71. Southeast wind between 4 and 7 mph becoming calm. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

Saturday: Tropical storm conditions possible. A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Cloudy, with a high near 81. Northeast wind 8 to 13 mph increasing to between 25 and 30 mph. Winds could gust as high as 36 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.

Saturday Night: Tropical storm conditions possible. Showers and possibly a thunderstorm. Some of the storms could produce heavy rainfall. Low around 68. North wind 33 to 38 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New rainfall amounts between 1 and 2 inches possible.

Tips for before, during and after a hurricane.

Keep a weather eye out.