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Richmond, VA — Dominion Virginia Power said it might take until Sunday to restore power to every customer in the state after a weekend of severe weather.
As of 6:30 AM Monday, Dominion reports more than 32,000 homes without power in Central Virginia.
In a statement released Sunday afternoon, Dominion said it hoped to restore power to 80-85 percent of affected households by Tuesday night, and 90-95 percent by Thursday night. But in areas with more significant damage, including Northern Virginia and the Shenandoah region, it could be Saturday night or even Sunday before the electricity is back on.
Statewide, 955,000 homes lost power during the severe weather on Friday and Saturday. On Monday morning, 250,000 customers were still waiting for it to be restored.
Meanwhile, after two back-to-back nights of severe thunderstorms and a tornado, Virginians are still working to clean up as they brace for another day of extreme heat.
Friday's storms rolled into the region in the evening, after triple-digit temperatures during the day. Trees were snapped, 900,000 citizens statewide lost power, and seven people were killed.
On Saturday, June 30, Gov. Bob McDonnell declared Virginia under a State of Emergency. As Dominion Virginia Power crews worked around the clock to restore power, another wave of violent storms brewed.
Heavy winds, torrential rain, lightning and hail crashed into Central Virginia on Saturday evening shortly after 7:00 PM. The National Weather Service in Wakefield confirmed that an EF-0 category tornado touched down in Hanover County, near Mechanicsville, with winds in the 80 miles per hour range.
A trailer fire in Henrico County was believed to have been caused by a lightning strike to the structure. The trailer was consumed by the fire, and counted as a total loss.
In anticipation of more record-breaking heat, several cooling shelters are opening in the area, and most provide bottle water. The City of Richmond will distribute ice beginning at 8:00 AM Monday at three fire stations: Stations 13 (Commerce Road), 22 (Broad Rock Boulevard) and 25 (Huguenot Road).
Copyright 2012 by Young Broadcasting of Richmond
