Strong thunderstorms with damaging winds swept through the region Monday night, leaving thousands of customers without power across Northern Virginia on Tuesday morning.
Key Takeaways
– Tuesday, March 17, 2026, morning — Multiple jurisdictions in Prince William County, Stafford County, Fredericksburg, Spotsylvania County and beyond
– Strong winds from severe storms caused widespread outages, with Stafford County seeing the heaviest impact
– Dominion Energy and NOVEC crews are working to restore service; Marine Corps Base Quantico remains open despite partial outages
Severe thunderstorms moved through the area Monday, March 16, 2026, bringing strong winds that downed trees and power lines across Northern Virginia. Stafford County was the hardest hit locally.
Dominion Energy reported the following customer outages Tuesday morning:
– Stafford County: 4,328 customers without power
– Prince William County: 238 customers out
– Fairfax: 266 customers out
– Spotsylvania County: 1,958 customers out
– Fredericksburg: 597 customers out
Northern Virginia Electric Cooperative (NOVEC) reported 211 customers without power in Stafford County, with crews working to restore service to around 246 customers affected by the previous night’s storms.
Marine Corps Base Quantico (MCB Quantico) confirmed it remains open, although portions of the installation are experiencing power outages due to the storm. Officials encouraged unscheduled leave or telework when authorized by individual organizations or chains of command.
Dominion Energy stated, “Strong thunderstorms with damaging winds have impacted our service area. Our crews and support teams are working safely and as quickly as possible to restore power.”
The utility urged customers experiencing an outage to report it via the Dominion Energy app, online, or by calling 1-866-DOM-HELP (1-866-366-4357). Officials also warned residents to stay clear of downed power lines, assume they are energized, remain at least 30 feet away, and report them immediately.
NOVEC advised customers to report outages by calling 703-335-0500, logging into SmartHub, or texting “#OUT” to 85700. The co-op encouraged monitoring its Outage Map and Facebook page for restoration updates.
Restoration times depend on the extent of damage, with crews prioritizing critical facilities and areas with the most outages. No specific restoration estimates were available Tuesday morning.
This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Potomac Local News editors for accuracy and clarity.
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> This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Potomac Local News editors for accuracy and clarity.
