One minute you have power, the next minute you're in the dark.  That's what it was like for many people last Friday night, June 29th, as the derecho plowed through the area. 

NASA's Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership satellite shows a different perspective of the storm's impact on power in a view from space.  The image below shows the amount of light, on a clear night, before the storms moved through. 

Power,as seen from NASA's satellite, on June 28, 2012

Take a look at the comparison two nights after.   Even though both Washington, D.C. and Baltimore look relatively illuminated they are both much dimmer, as seen from the image below. 

Power, as seen from NASA's satellite, on June 30, 2012

Check out the full article from NASA's Earth Observatory.  You can also use their slider feature and compare the two images.