Saturday, October 27, 2012
Hurricane Sandy slowed down overnight, but picked up speed again Saturday morning.
Sandy slowed to a tropical storm overnight, but an Air Force aircraft found hurricane-force winds again Saturday morning, according to the National Weather Service. Hurricane Sandy is a Category I hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph, according to NWS. The difference between Sandy and a tropical storm at this point is 2 mph, with 74 mph being the lowest speed that registers as Category I. In the face of Hurricane Sandy's northward movement, NWS has issued a flood watch for Prince George's and Montgomery counties, much of Maryland and the DC metro area starting late Sunday through Tuesday morning. Projections for Sandy show it making landfall late Monday between the Delmarva Peninsula and northern New Jersey, NWS says. The …
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
The storm watch will be until 8 p.m.
Batten down the hatches. Another storm is coming. The National Weather Service issued a severe thunderstorm watch for Takoma Park until 8 p.m. Heavy rain, large hail, lightning and isolated tornadoes are all expected and people with outdoor plans should prepare for the weather, NWS said. A severe thunderstorm watch means that conditions are favorable for a storm. Check back for more updates on the storm.
Thursday, July 19, 2012
The worst of the weather is expected to roll in sometime after 1 p.m.
Wednesday's stormy weather may give an encore performance Thursday if the forecast from the National Weather Service holds. Today's hazardous weather outlook calls for thunderstorms in Prince George's County and surrounding areas in the afternoon and evening, some of which may produce damaging wind gusts and flash floods. The worst of the weather is expected to roll in sometime after 1 p.m. Rainfall amounts of up to 3/4 of an inch are possible by late tonight. Can't get enough downpours? Fear not: showers and thunderstorms are back in the forecast for Friday, too.
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Over 10,000 Pepco customers in the D.C. region are without power.
There are about 555 Pepco customer outages in Takoma Park so far and 10,129 accross the Washington metro region. That's a far cry from the 748,000 outages from the June 29 storm, but it's still an inconvenience to some. A Severe Thunderstorm Watch was been issued for Montgomery County and surrounding areas in the Washington-Baltimore region until 9 p.m. tonight. That has area power companies prepping customers for potential weather-related power outages across the region. Pepco announced earlier today that it is monitoring the forecasts, warning that powerful winds could knock out electricity in some areas. Pepco has taken the precautionary move to schedule additional technicians and call center personnel to work through the night. Do …
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Montgomery County Councilman Roger Berliner blasted Pepco Monday for its response times.
Montgomery County Council President Roger Berliner is not happy with Pepco. “While this was a big storm and outages are to be expected, Pepco’s performance – on every level – was unacceptable. The length of the outages. The appalling communications. The computer glitches and data discrepancies. The list can go on and on," Berliner said Monday. So we want to know how you think Pepco did. Is Berliner blowing the response time out of proportion or did Pepco fail the county?
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
City crew will be picking up branches.
If you've straw branches strewn about your yard from the June 29 storm, Takoma Park has a solution. Takoma Park collection crews will pick up branches and brush at the curbside through this week and next, Public Works Director Daryl Braithwaite. The best way to go is to put the branches in a trash can or tie them into bundles. Takoma Park will not take large stumps or tree trunks. For those residents should contact a private tree care company. Fallen trees that were cut up by PEPCO contractors and left on the streetside will be removed from the right of way within two weeks, Braithwaite said.
Pepco has reduced outages, but there are still many customers without power.
Pepco is making some progress. As of early Tuesday morning, 2174 Pepco customers in Takoma Park are still without power. That's about half the number of customers that were with out power Monday. Pepco was reporting 4,623 customers in Takoma Park without Power Monday afternoon. The power is estimated to be restored by July 6, but that is the most conservative estimate so it could come back on sooner, according to the Pepco outage map. Let us know if you're still without power and what you're doing to cope.
Monday, July 2, 2012
Check back for updates on road closures.
There are 240 intersections with traffic lights out in Montgomery County and three of those are in Takoma Park. Remember that when a traffic light is out, you should treat it as a four-way stop. There are also 10 raods with downed trees or wires in Takoma Park. Traffic Lights Out: Trees/Wires/Road closure:
Tell us in our poll and in comments how you think Pepco and BG&E performed after Friday night's storm.
In the aftermath of the snowstorm that hit Maryland in January of 2011, Pepco was slammed for poor response time and communication when around 172,000 Maryland residents were left without power for several days. When Hurricane Irene hit later that year, some thought Pepco had improved its techniques but criticized Baltimore Gas and Electric for its poor service. Now, many Maryland residents are facing outages that could last until Friday or beyond due to the violent storm June 29, according to Pepco officials. In 2011, the American Customer Satisfaction Index gave Pepco a rating of 54 out of 100, but this year, that rating climbed to 69. Is the increased rating deserved? Have you been satisfied with BG&E and Pepco's performance and …
Let us know if you have power.
Pepco is reporting 4,623 customers in Takoma Park are still without power. It's been three days and we want to know if you have power. And if you don't, what are you doing to stay cool and connected? Are you staying with a friend or braving the heating and isolation? Send us photos of how you're entertaining yourself to ryanm@patch.com or upload them to the story yourself.
Bailey Henneberg
7:11 pm on Sunday, October 28, 2012
Good reminder Steve! more ›