D.C. area thunderstorms knock out power across region

Homes and businesses across Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia lost power June 29 as one of the most powerful and punishing storms in months swept across the region.

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These satellite images provided by NASA Earth Observatory, using data from the NASA/NOAA satellite S-NPP, show the Mid-Atlantic cities of Washington and Baltimore before an after electrical outages following severe summer storms. The top image, made June 28, 2012, shows normal light display in the area. In the bottom image, made June 30, 2012, extensive power outages in Washington and Baltimore are visible, while clouds obscure the lights of Philadelphia and other areas north and east of Baltimore.

AP /

July 4, 2012

Just beyond the wreckage of a fallen tree, Alexis Knerr, Kelly Connelly, Molly Bublik, Matt Zeiger, Iris Fabrikant, Carnell Smith and Amanda Thome celebrate the Fourth of July under an umbrella with finger food, near the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and 45th Street NW in Washington.

Daniel C. Britt / The Washington Post

July 4, 2012

Roya Nock, 5, sweeps up what is left of the debris from last week's storm before helping her family set up for a Fourth of July celebration in Washington.

Daniel C. Britt / The Washington Post

July 4, 2012

Randford Gass with E&E Powerline from New Brunswick, Canada, used a chainsaw to cut a utilities pole to the right height on 41st Avenue University Park. Gass and other members of the crew drove two 15-hour days to get to the area to help restore power after last week's major storm.

Mark Gail / The Washington Post

July 4, 2012

Electrical crews install a new utility pole in Silver Spring. Millions of Americans headed for parades and fireworks shows to mark a sweltering Fourth of July holiday, some even celebrating as the nation's founders did: without electricity. Storm-ravaged states from Indiana to Virginia carried celebrations on Day 5 of a power outage caused by deadly winds ripping through the region. More than 1 million homes and businesses remained affected, and thousands of utility workers stayed on the job in a scramble to restore power.

Gary Cameron / Reuters

July 4, 2012

Ben Cushman returns to his home to inspect the damage to his house in Silver Spring after a deadly storm caused power outages across the Washington region. On the fifth day of the power outage, numerous Independence Day celebrations were cancelled in order to free up police and fire personnel for emergencies.

Gary Cameron / Reuters

July 4, 2012

Ben Cushman returns to his home in Silver Spring to inspect the damage to his children's bedrooms. A large tree crashed through the roof moments after Cushman and his wife got their children out of their beds during last Friday’s storm. Before electrical crews can come into neighborhoods to restore damaged power lines, the limbs and branches of destroyed trees must first be cleaned up.

Gary Cameron / Reuters

July 3, 2012

Beau, a guest of Dave and Mary Farling of the Mantua neighborhood of Fairfax, tries to cool off on a wet driveway. With power out for the fourth straight day and no air conditioning, several pet owners in Mantua provided their dogs with some relief from the heat.

Dayna Smith / FOR THE WASHINGTON POST

July 3, 2012

Beau, left, Biscuit and Abe cool off in wading pools in the Mantua neighborhood of Fairfax. Abe is owned by Dave and Mary Farling, Biscuit by Ted and Shannon Waters, and Beau was a houseguest whose owner is out of town.

Dayna Smith / FOR THE WASHINGTON POST

July 3, 2012

Debbie Reed holds up the warning tape as Michael Goo of Falls Church wheels a generator past downed power lines toward his home. The street on which Goo and Reed live has been cut off by downed power lines and all goods have to be ferried in and out by hand.

Kevin Lamarque / Reuters

July 3, 2012

A shopper buys ice at a supermarket in Falls Church. Ice has been in short supply as hundreds of thousands of residents in the Washington metro area have been without power since June 29 when a violent storm ripped through the region.

Kevin Lamarque / Reuters

July 2, 2012

Residents of the Skyland townhouses and apartment buildings on the 2300 block of 24th Street in Southeast Washington have been dealing with power outages from a storm that came through last Friday.