Power Outages Follow Spring Thunderstorm

UPDATES -

8:45 p.m. - The storms have largely swept through the Washington, DC region, leaving thousands of residents and businesses without power. 

Pepco's outage map, as of 8:45 p.m., shows nearly 7,000 customers without power in Prince George's County. Another 7,000 customers in Northeast and Southeast Washington, DC are without power, while a bit more than 500 customers are experiencing outages in Montgomery County. 

Another roughly 650 Baltimore Gas and Electric customers in northwestern Prince George's County are without power. 

Among those affected, residents living in Brandywine and Clinton tell Patch that there are outages in their neighborhoods.

7:11 p.m. - The National Weather Service has issued a Tornado Warning for Accokeek and southwestern Prince George's County. Residents in that area are advised to take cover in an interior room and to avoid windows, if possible. The tornado warning is in effect until 7:30 p.m. 

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7:01 p.m. - The National Weather Service has issued a Severe Thunderstorm Warning for Prince George's County and much of the surrounding Washington, DC metropolitan area. 

The warning is in effect until 7:30 p.m. According to the National Weather Service, the storm is capable of producing winds in excess of 60 mph. The warning reads in part:

"THIS IS A DANGEROUS LINE OF STORMS. IF YOU ARE IN ITS PATH...PREPARE IMMEDIATELY FOR DAMAGING WIND GUSTS AND FREQUENT CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING. MOVE INDOORS TO A STURDY BUILDING AND STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS." - National Weather Service Severe Thunderstorm Warning

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3:18 p.m. - The Prince George's County Fire and EMS Department is taking the opportunity to remind county residents to take advantage of the many options available to receive news and alerts directly from county emergency officials. 

The PGFD uses Twitter and Facebook accounts to push important information out to followers. Readers can also sign up for official text and email emergency alert notifications through the NotifyMe Prince George’s system.

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Original Story

The National Weather Service has issued a Tornado Watch for Prince George's County other areas in central and eastern Maryland. 

The Tornado Watch is in effect until 10 p.m. for Prince George's, Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Calvert, Caroline, Carrol and Cecil counties in Maryland. 

A short term forecast from the National Weather Service posted just after 2 p.m. calls for isolated showers possible across most of the Mid Atlantic this afternoon, but heavier showers and thunderstorms are expected later in the evening. 

This is a developing story, stay with Patch as more details are learned.