WASHINGTON, DC – Strong storms and winds, which blew with a force of up to 140 kilometers (86 miles) per hour, this Saturday left some 200,000 people without electricity in the capital of the United States and its metropolitan area, according to the portal specialized PowerOutage.US.
Strong gusts of wind downed trees and power poles in Washington as well as in the two neighboring states: Virginia and Maryland.
As EFE was able to verify, in the town of Arlington, in northern Virginia, some trees – uprooted – had fallen on vehicles and homes. After the storm, dozens of people took to the streets to assess the damage and chat with other neighbors.
Similar damage was reported in other areas of the state of Maryland and in Washington.
Such was the impact of the wind that Arlington National Cemetery, where the US buries its war veterans, announced on Twitter that it will delay its opening time on Sunday to clean up fallen trees and branches.
At Arlington Cemetery, it is a tradition for a soldier to always stand guard and parade, rifle in hand, in front of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in honor of those missing in action.
Despite the strong winds and the rain, the soldier who guards the grave continued to parade impassively, as the Arlington cemetery itself showed on its Twitter account.
The storm unleashed numerous thunder and lightning strikes while winds reached speeds of 56 to 86 miles (96 to 140 kilometers) per hour, according to the National Weather Service.
The storms came after several days in which the region recorded maximum temperatures of up to 40 degrees Celsius.
According to The Washington Post, several residents of the area believe that Saturday’s storm is the worst since another that hit the Washington area in June 2012 with winds between 96 and more than 129 kilometers (56 and 80 miles) per hour, and that left a million people without electricity.
