High impact windstorm hits US Mid-Atlantic region

High winds uproot trees in Oxen Hills, Maryland. Photo by Lowell Nucum, Eagle News Service.

WASHINGTON DC (Eagle News) — High wind warnings were announced by the National Weather Service (NWS) for the Baltimore/Washington D.C. region of the US starting Friday, March 2 until Saturday morning at six o’clock.

Winds from 25 to 40 mph (40 kph to 64 kph) with wind gusts from 55 to 70 (89 kph to 113 kph) are expected to cause widespread damage and power outages, the NWS website said.

According to the NWS, the Hazardous Weather Outlook is for the Maryland portion of the Chesapeake Bay, Tidal Potomac River, and adjacent counties in central Maryland and northern Virginia as well as the District of Columbia.

The effects of the high winds are being felt as far south as North Carolina. According to the North Carolina Emergency Management, about 41,000 homes are without power.

(Eagle News Service, with reports from Ace Ramirez, Washington DC Bureau)