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Floods, downed trees close roads in Reston with more rain expected today

Updated at 2 p.m. — Reston Association has closed all of its pools for the remainder of the day “due to “due to the current and continued threat of hazardous weather.”

Updated at 12:10 p.m. — A Tornado Watch has been issued for the D.C. area, including Fairfax County, until 7 p.m.

Updated at 11:30 a.m. — All activities scheduled to take place in Fairfax County Public Schools this afternoon and evening have been canceled due to the anticipated inclement weather.

Updated at 10:25 a.m. — All of the closed roads in Reston have reopened to traffic, except for the Browns Mill, Beach Mill, and Leigh Mill closures listed below, according to a 10:13 a.m. update from the Fairfax County Police Department.

Earlier: Several roads in Reston have been closed after a thunderstorm courtesy of Tropical Depression Ida passed through Fairfax County overnight.

“We are expecting several inches of rain today from the remnants of Hurricane Ida, picking up in intensity in the early afternoon until around midnight,” Fairfax County said in a post on its emergency information blog. “We have already experienced an early morning storm that has led to power outages, swift water rescues and numerous road closures due to downed trees and flooded roads.”

Road closures due to flooding and downed trees have been reported throughout the county, but as of 8:30 a.m., they have been particularly concentrated in the Reston District Station area, according to the Fairfax County Police Department:

Reston District Station

Browns Mill Rd and Pennycress Ln, closed due to down tree

Beach Mill Rd and Clubview Dr, closed due to downed tree

Hunter Mill Rd and Cedar Pond Dr, closed due to flooding

500 bock of River Bend Rd, closed due to flooding

1100 block of Springvale Rd, closed due to flooding

Leigh Mill Rd and Kelso Rd, closed due to flooding

Walker Rd and Murphy Dr, closed due to downed tree

Hunter Mill Rd and Cedar Pond Dr, closed due to flooding

With more rain expected to fall today, the National Weather Service has extended a Flood Warning for northwestern Fairfax County until 11:30 a.m., citing Reston, Herndon, and Great Falls among the areas that could experience flooding.

“At 8:20 a.m. EDT, stream gauge reports indicated water levels continue to rise across the area. Flooding is ongoing,” the NWS said in its alert.

A Flash Flood Watch is also now in effect for much of the D.C. region, including Fairfax County. It is currently set to last through tomorrow (Thursday) morning:

* A round of heavy thunderstorms early this morning may result in localized flash flooding, especially in the Washington and Baltimore Metropolitan Areas. Additional thunderstorms with heavy rainfall are expected across the area this afternoon and evening. Rainfall amounts of 2 to 4 inches are expected, with localized amounts up to 6 inches possible.

* This amount of heavy rainfall will not only result in the potential for considerable flash flooding of creeks, small streams, and urban areas, but also the potential for river flooding on the main stem rivers.

The Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department is urging people to avoid driving through flooded or closed roadways, noting that stalled and trapped cars put the driver, passengers, and first responders in unnecessary danger.

“By now, many drivers across Fairfax County know which roads traditionally flood,” the department wrote in a blog post. “FCFRD asks that if you need to be on the roadways today that you stay informed and plan alternate routes around flooded roadways. Our firefighters and paramedics do not want to meet you by (a preventable) ‘accident’!”

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Heavy rain makes roads treacherous with Area Flood Warning in effect for Fairfax County

Car drives through high water on Route 7 at Baron Cameron (photo by Ed Schudel)

(Updated at 10:05 a.m.) An Areal Flood Warning is now in effect for Fairfax County.

Between one and two inches of rain had already fallen by the time the National Weather Service issued the alert at 7:18 a.m., with flooding expected to remain a risk until 1:15 p.m.

As of 9 a.m., the Fairfax County Police Department reported numerous road closures, including Hunter Mill Road at Hunter Mill Station due to flooding. A downed tree has necessitated a closure of 10100 block of Wendover Drive in Vienna.

While the heaviest rain and flooding has emerged in the Tysons/Vienna area, construction on Route 7 appears to have contributed to high waters near the Baron Cameron Road intersection in Reston.

Another driver reported around 8:05 a.m. that emergency responders had blocked off three lanes of the Dulles Toll Road, possibly around exit 14 at Hunter Mill Road, “due to severe flooding.”

The Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department urged people to avoid driving if possible, particularly on roads that are known to be prone to flooding.

At 9:50 a.m., the fire department said that it had responded to three different calls for downed electrical wires and two calls for fallen trees just within the past 25 minutes.

“Assume all wires are power lines & LIVE!” FCFRD tweeted. “Avoid approaching/touching anything nearby. Be careful around downed trees as wires may be hidden in tree.”

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JUST IN: Flood Warning Issued for Reston, Great Falls

The National Weather Service has issued a Flood Warning for areas in central Fairfax County, including Reston and Great Falls.

The warning is set to last until 7 p.m.

“Doppler radar and automated rain gauges indicated that moderate to heavy rain was falling over the area. The heavy rain will cause flooding,” according to NWS. “Up to 1 inch of rain has already fallen. Additional rainfall amounts of around an inch are possible.”

Flickr pool photo by vantagehill

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Reston Remains Under Flood Warning Until Wednesday Night

High water on shore of Lake Audubon on April 30, 2014/Credit: Kaitlin Franks

(Updated, 2:12 p.m.) — The National Weather Service has extended the flash flood watch until 4:15 pm. and a flood warning until 9 p.m.

More flooding: Hunter Mill between Hunter Station and Cobble Pond now closed. Lawyers at Hunter Mill closed again.

The NWS says two to four inches of rain have already fallen in the area and more rain will continue to fall throughout the afternoon.

(Updated, 11:19 a.m.) Fairfax County Police say Lawyers Road near Hunter Mill has been reopened as of 11:15 am.

The National Weather Service in Sterling has issued a flood warning for urban areas and small streams in Fairfax County and most of the metro Washington, D.C. area.

A flood warning means floods have been reported or are imminent. The warning is in effect until 3 p.m.

As of 9 a.m., radar indicted that one inch of rain had fallen in the area in the last two hours. Similar rainfall rates are expected for the next several hours, which may cause streams to rise out of their banks and cause flooding, the NWS says.

As of 10 a.m., two roads in the Reston area were reported closed due to flooding: the 2800 block of Fox Mill Road (near Crossfield Elementary School) and Lawyers Road east of Hunter Mill Road.

Fairfax County Police are reminding motorists that most flood deaths occur in automobiles. Never drive into areas where the water covers the roadway as flood waters are usually deeper than they appear.

This story will be updated with more weather alerts as they happen.

Photo: High water by shores of Cameron Pond in Reston/Credit: Kaitlin Franks via Facebook

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