As severe weather loomed over Virginia and northeastern North Carolina on March 16, 2026, Dominion Energy found itself at the center of emergency preparations, urging customers to brace for possible power outages and to report any disruptions swiftly. The company’s warnings came as meteorologists predicted damaging winds, thunderstorms, and even tornadoes across the region, prompting a flurry of activity among residents and emergency responders alike.
Dominion Energy, which serves more than 127,000 customers across a sprawling 2,600-square-mile area in northeastern North Carolina—including cities such as Elizabeth City, Roanoke Rapids, and Williamston—made it clear that the unique geography of the region would play a significant role in how quickly power could be restored. According to Dominion Energy spokesperson Cherise M. Newsome, “the sprawling land mass, tree canopy, and terrain in these areas will impact our approach to restoration as well as our response times.” The company’s service area covers a patchwork of rural and semi-urban communities, where heavy tree cover and challenging road conditions can slow down even the best-prepared crews.
With the weather forecast predicting severe thunderstorms, high-speed winds, and the potential for tornado activity, Dominion Energy did not mince words about the risks. Newsome explained that “damaging winds and tornado activity could cause widespread power outages and potentially multi-day restoration efforts.” She noted that the leading cause of outages in such storms is trees and limbs falling onto power lines, an ever-present hazard in the heavily wooded counties the utility serves. Repairing these outages is no small feat: “Repairing broken poles and replacing spans of downed wire is time-consuming work, requiring multiple crews and bucket trucks working at a single site for several hours,” Newsome said.
To meet the challenge, Dominion Energy mobilized hundreds of crews, ready to respond as soon as the weather allowed. The company emphasized that it would prioritize restoring power to hospitals, schools, water treatment facilities, and other critical community services, as well as areas with the largest number of outages. Coordination with state and local emergency management agencies was also a top priority, particularly for road clearing and ensuring that crews could reach affected areas safely and efficiently.
While the initial forecast had many bracing for the worst, there was a twist in the story as the day unfolded. According to WRIC’s StormTracker8 team, the weather system lost a significant amount of steam, thanks to temperatures not rising as much as expected. Still, Dominion Energy spokesperson Craig Carper cautioned that their crews remained on high alert. “When we’re looking at ice or, you know, snowfall, those can sometimes feel a little more definitive,” Carper explained. “The wind can be tricky to predict when we’re talking about, you know, its impact on, on power lines.”
Carper also highlighted the unpredictable nature of power outages in such storms. Depending on the severity, outages could affect tens of thousands of customers—or just a handful. The company’s hundreds of standby crews were prepared for either scenario. However, Carper stressed that safety comes first: “If there’s an active tornado, watch, they’re going to wait until the event passes before restoration can begin. It may be two or three hours before a truck could get dispatched because we want our crews to be safe.”
Given these realities, Dominion Energy urged residents to take proactive steps. Customers were advised to report outages using the Dominion Energy app, website, or by calling 866-DOM-HELP. The company emphasized the importance of staying at least 30 feet away from downed power lines and reporting any such hazards immediately. “The line could be energized and dangerous,” Newsome warned. The utility also encouraged customers to fully charge their electronic devices before the storm, ensure that generators were fueled and safely connected, and stock up on bottled water, non-perishable food, flashlights, batteries, first aid kits, and necessary medications.
Communities across the affected counties—Currituck, Camden, Pasquotank, Perquimans, Chowan, Gates, Hertford, Bertie, Martin, Northampton, Halifax, Warren, Nash, Granville, Person, Edgecombe, Pitt, Beaufort, Washington, Tyrrell, and Dare—were all on alert as the weather front approached. Dominion Energy’s preparations included close coordination with local officials and emergency management teams, ready to clear roads and restore critical infrastructure as soon as it was safe to do so.
But the severe weather wasn’t the only headline in Virginia on March 16. Richmond Commonwealth’s Attorney Colette McEachin reported receiving messages from people across the state about a fake summons, a separate but unsettling development that added to the day’s sense of urgency. Meanwhile, local law enforcement responded to a shooting on the 1900 block of Chuckatuck Avenue, where officers were made aware that a woman had been shot—a stark reminder that emergencies can come in many forms, often simultaneously.
Against this backdrop of heightened vigilance, the region’s sporting community was also gearing up for a major event. Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) was set to face the University of North Carolina (UNC) on March 19, 2026, in a much-anticipated basketball matchup. VCU entered the contest as an 11-seed, while UNC held the 6-seed slot. The game, scheduled just days after the weather alert, promised to provide a welcome distraction for fans and residents alike—assuming, of course, that power and normalcy were restored in time.
The convergence of severe weather, public safety concerns, and community events underscored the need for preparedness and resilience. Dominion Energy’s approach—mobilizing crews, providing clear safety guidance, and coordinating with emergency agencies—offered a blueprint for how utilities can respond to unpredictable and potentially dangerous conditions. The company’s focus on restoring power to critical infrastructure first, while also keeping customer safety front and center, reflected lessons learned from past storms and outages.
Residents, for their part, took the advice seriously, charging devices, gathering supplies, and monitoring updates through the Dominion Energy app and local news outlets. As Carper put it, “Make sure you have essentials like water, non-perishable foods, lights and charge all electronic devices.” It was a day for vigilance, but also for community—neighbors checking on one another, first responders ready to act, and utility crews standing by, prepared to work through the night if needed.
While the worst-case scenario did not materialize, the events of March 16, 2026, served as a timely reminder: when severe weather threatens, preparation, communication, and cooperation are the keys to keeping the lights on and communities safe.