The remnants of a tropical storm that has wreaked havoc in the South moved into the Washington area last night, prompting officials to prepare for flooding and tornadoes.
Forecasters with the National Weather Service in Sterling, Va., said the remnants of Tropical Storm Cindy would drop 3 to 5 inches of rain on the area, leading to a “possibly life-threatening situation.”
“Any thunderstorm could be a hazard,” meteorologist John Darnley said. “Once this moves through … we should be OK.”
The weather service issued a tornado warning for Baltimore County yesterday afternoon after radar indicated a developing tornado over Cockeysville, moving east at 5 mph. Forecasters said tornadoes could touch down anywhere from northeast Charlottesville to the Baltimore-Washington area, as well as farther east to the Chesapeake Bay.
Forecasters also issued a flash-flood watch for the region from 8 p.m. until this afternoon. Alexandria officials delivered sandbags to flood-prone businesses and provided other bags to city residents.
“The main thing is vigilance,” city spokesman Steve Mason said. “It’s good to have everything in place, but the residents need to be prepared to respond if the rain starts to come down.”
D.C. Department of Public Works officials said the department would respond adequately if severe storms hit, but they did not expect to call in any additional crews or equipment.
Tropical Storm Cindy came ashore late Tuesday in Louisiana with 70 mph winds, dropping up to 8 inches of rain and knocking out power to about 287,000 customers.
In Georgia, the storm contributed to two deaths, dumped up to 5 inches of rain and caused damage estimated at $75 million. In Hampton, a suspected tornado blew off roofs and shredded sections of the grandstand and luxury boxes at the Atlanta Motor Speedway, causing damage estimated at $25 million to $40 million.
Forecasters also are watching Hurricane Dennis, which is expected to hit with heavy rains and winds up to 130 mph from Florida to Texas.
An increasingly dangerous Dennis dumped rain on Jamaica yesterday, and Cuba readied for the full brunt of the storm, which strengthened into a Category 3. The hurricane could gather more energy as it moves over warm Caribbean waters. In Florida, authorities issued a state of emergency and ordered some evacuations in the Florida Keys.
This is “the earliest we’ve had this many named storms in recorded history in the Atlantic,” forecaster Chris Lauer said.
“Reality in Florida [is] we have a hurricane problem,” state Emergency Management Director Craig Fugate said. “If you didn’t know it from last year, and you haven’t got it from these four tropical storms, I don’t know what it’s going to take.”
• Arlo Wagner contributed to this article, which is based in part on wire service reports.
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