Updated
STAFFORD COUNTY, Va. – Stafford County was slammed hard tonight by a thunderstorm packing high winds, lightning, and heavy rain. One house fire, several downed limbs and power lines, some street closures, and numerous power outages are blamed on the storm.
Fire crews were called a home on Walden Lane in the Widewater section of the county after the roof of the house caught fire. The blaze is believed to have been sparked by lightening strike, and fires were able to douse the flames and no one was injured.
Power outages were also a problem following the storm, as popular shopping areas like Stafford Marketplace and the Walmart on Va. 610 in North Stafford were dark Friday night. And the number power outages in Stafford County continues to grow.
As of 10 a.m. Saturday, April 20
- Dominion Virginia Power reports 1,600 outages
- Northern Virginia Electric Cooperative reports 13 outages
Many of the outages are located in the southern portion of the county to include the area along Warrenton Road, Falmouth, and White Oak.
“This storm came up all of a sudden like last summer’s Derecho storm, but this one didn’t have nearly the same impact as that one,” said Stafford fire and rescue Assistant Chief Mark Doyle.
Doyle reports that some side streets were also closed, but traffic along major routes was still moving without incident in the county.
The storm that slammed Stafford County came as part of a large cold front moving across Virginia today. Many other areas of the state saw strong storms with heavy wind and rain. The National Weather Service issued a tornado watch for the region that was set to expire at 10 p.m. Friday.
