Update 2:25 p.m.
The large sign at Potomac Mills mall overlooking Interstate 95 has fallen to the ground as high winds sweep the area.
Woodbridge,Va. –– Winds are once again battering the large Potomac Mills mall sign that stands high atop its perch looking over Interstate 95.
At 2 p.m., the north-facing portion of the sign was hanging on by a tread during another round of violent wind gusts to sweep the area.
Virginia State Police had been notified the sign – made of banner-like material – could fall 150 feet to the highway below, said Potomac Mills spokeswoman Caroline Barry Green.
“We have people in place ready to react when it falls down, but right now with the current wind speeds there is no way we can send someone up there to bring it down safely,” said Green.
While this is the second round of high winds to whip the area with gusts of over 50 mph, the south-facing portion of the sign blew away during last weekend’s violent wind gusts that fanned wild fires across much of Northern Virginia and Maryland.
State troopers assisted crews in retrieving the downed sign and no one was injured.
Mall officials have already had a plan in the works to replace the portion of the sign that had been missing, which is about 50 feet wide.
Now, they’ll have to replace both sides of the sign, said Green.
The iconic sign has stood in the same spot since the mall opened in 1985.
