Salt from nor'easter leaves 22,000 without power in Norfolk, Virginia Beach and Peninsula

NORFOLK, Va. — More than 22,000 customers across Hampton Roads are without power after salt from last weekend's nor'easter is being reactivated by rain, damaging equipment and triggering widespread outages, according to Dominion Energy.

Most of the outages are concentrated in Norfolk, with additional outages in Virginia Beach and on the Peninsula, Dominion Energy officials. The utility giant said outage numbers may fluctuate as crews work and that restoration could extend through the evening, depending on weather conditions.

Light rain falling across the region is activating salt that accumulated on power equipment when strong winds from the nor'easter pushed salt spray from coastal areas far inland. That built-up salt, when wet, can carry an electrical charge, harm equipment, and cause outages. Dominion said what the situation calls for is a heavier, sustained rain to rinse the salt from its equipment.

First Warning Forecast: Gloomy weekend with scattered showers Saturday

As crews restore power, they are replacing damaged equipment with modernized fiberglass cross arms, which are more resistant to salt buildup and reduce the risk of electricity tracking across components.

"We understand outages are frustrating, and we appreciate our customers' patience as crews continue working to restore power," Dominion Energy officials said.

Meteorologist Tony Nargi said cloudy skies in the morning will turn to scattered showers during Saturday afternoon and evening. Winds will be out of the NE at 10-15 mph. Overnight, scattered showers are expected to continue and Sunday will feature steady rain developing for most of the area in the morning. Steady rain will turn to off-and-on showers on the Peninsulas by Sunday afternoon.

As of 1:15 p.m., more than 22,200 customers were without power, according to Dominion Energy's online outage summary.

• Norfolk — 18,466
  
• Virginia Beach — 1,559
  
• Chesapeake — 1,467
  
• Hampton — 601
  
• Newport News — 97

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