The Shadow
COVINGTON, Va. (VR) — Severe thunderstorms swept through the Alleghany Highlands on Saturday, dumping heavy rain and whipping up damaging winds that flooded roads and parking lots and knocked out power to nearly 1,000 homes and businesses at the height of the storm.
By Sunday, crews with Appalachian Power and Dominion Energy had restored service to the vast majority of customers across Covington and Alleghany County, according to officials. At the peak of Saturday’s storms, outages across the Alleghany Highlands reached just under 1,000 customers, officials said, though full restoration came within about a day.
Outage tracking Saturday evening showed at least 477 customers in Alleghany County and 289 in Covington without power as of 9 p.m., according to data from Appalachian Power and Dominion Energy. Those numbers climbed as the storms continued moving through the region Saturday night before crews began widespread restoration efforts. Across the two utilities’ broader service area in Southwest and Central Virginia, more than 6,000 customers lost power at one point during the storms.
The National Weather Service issued a severe thunderstorm warning Saturday afternoon for southwestern Alleghany County, with radar indicating wind gusts of up to 60 mph near Paint Bank. The warning cautioned that high winds could damage roofs, siding, and trees and that heavy rain could reduce visibility for drivers.
The storms also brought flash flooding to low-lying parts of Covington, with water pooling in parking lots—including the Walmart parking lot—and covering stretches of roadway, including underpasses known to flood during heavy rain.
Covington’s East Chestnut Street and North Monroe Avenue underpasses, which carry traffic beneath CSX railroad tracks, are longtime trouble spots during major storms. A city drainage study completed last year found that both crossings flood frequently and can become impassable, cutting off key routes between the east and west sides of the city.
Appalachian Power crews worked through the weekend to clear downed lines and repair damaged equipment, restoring service to most customers by Sunday. Dominion Energy crews completed similar restoration work in the areas of Alleghany County they serve.
Local and state officials urged residents to stay off flooded roads during and after the storms. Most flood-related deaths occur when drivers attempt to cross water-covered roadways, and officials repeated the standard warning: Turn Around, Don’t Drown.
Residents dealing with lingering storm damage were encouraged to report it to their utility provider—Appalachian Power or Dominion Energy—and to monitor local emergency alerts as cleanup continues in the coming days. City and county public works crews said they would continue assessing road and drainage damage from the weekend storms.
Saturday’s storms add to a string of weather-related and infrastructure challenges that have affected the Alleghany Highlands this year, including several boil-water advisories in Covington and Alleghany County tied to aging water lines. Those advisories, prompted by water main breaks, have added to the workload for local public works crews already responding to storm-related flooding and power outages.
While no injuries have been reported in connection with Saturday’s storms, officials said the flooding served as another reminder of the region’s vulnerability to heavy rain, particularly in flood-prone areas along the Jackson River and at low-lying crossings throughout Covington. The city has previously pursued state grant funding to study and address chronic flooding at its rail underpasses, though any physical improvements would take time to design and build.
For now, officials say the priority is completing storm cleanup and keeping roads clear as more summer storms remain possible in the weeks ahead. Residents are encouraged to sign up for local emergency alerts and to check road conditions before traveling during severe weather.
Monroe Street underpass
Power lines down on Carpenter Drive (Photo: Kimberly Andrews)
