The United States Capitol building is seen in Washington, U.S., June 24, 2023. REUTERS FILE PHOTO
WASHINGTON (AP) — US government offices in the Washington, DC area closed early Monday due to threatening weather as forecasters warned people in the eastern US of possible tornadoes, damaging winds and big hailstones
Fast-moving thunderstorms and high winds downed trees and knocked out power to nearly 200,000 homes and businesses in neighboring Maryland and Virginia, according to tracking website PowerOutage.us. Up to 800,000 customers had lost power in the southern and mid-Atlantic states.
Though drenched with rain and with some hail, the nation’s capital had escaped any tornado when a National Weather Service tornado watch expired at 9 pm EDT (0100 GMT).
A coastal flood advisory remained in effect for Washington until 4 am 08000 GMT).
The National Weather Service said more than 29.5 million people from Alabama to western New York state had been at risk from tornadoes Monday, but none had been reported as of 9 p.m. EDT.
The Federal Aviation Administration has ordered departing flights grounded at airports in New York, Washington, Philadelphia, Atlanta and Baltimore due to thunderstorms. The FAA said it was rerouting planes around storms as much as possible.
Libraries, museums, the National Zoo, swimming pools and other municipal and federal services in the Washington area also closed early. The US Office of Personnel Management said federal employees had to leave no later than 3 p.m.
FlightAware, a flight tracking site, said more than 2,600 US flights have been cancelled, including 102 at Washington Reagan National Airport and 35 at Washington Dulles. Another 7,700 US flights had been delayed.
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First posted at 7:41 am
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