Heavy rainfall floods roads, cuts power

THE WASHINGTON TIMES

Heavy rain and lightning caused flooding and thousands of power outages last night, the third day that storms hit the region.

An off-duty fire department captain rescued a woman trapped inside a vehicle that had water up to its windows at Davis Mill and Brink roads in Germantown after Great Seneca Creek overflowed its banks.

Flooding trapped about 30 people inside a recreation center on Meadowbrook Lane in Chevy Chase last night, Montgomery County fire department Capt. Oscar Garcia said. The center is in a hilly neighborhood and water had run down to the center, which is near Rock Creek.

Flash-flood warnings were issued across the Washington area as rain pelted the area after nightfall.

At Washington Dulles International Airport, 1.78 inches of rain fell just between 9 and 10 p.m. Roads into and out of the airport were flooded and some flights were delayed or canceled. Interstate 66 and Route 29 also were affected by flooding, and Interstate 395 was reported at a dead stop at 11 p.m.

With rain falling at a rate of 1 to 2 inches an hour at times, totals of more than 5 inches were reported in some areas.

“We’ve had a month’s worth of rain in one night,” said Dennis Feltgen, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. “The water is coming down so heavy and so fast that it has nowhere to go.”

The normal rainfall for June is 3.13 inches, and that was surpassed everywhere before the storm had passed. The deficit for the year of 4.3 inches also was taken care of, Mr. Feltgen said.

Columbia, Md., received 5.68 inches by 10:30 p.m. In Montgomery County, Wheaton had 6 inches. In Fairfax County, Reston had 6.29 inches, with more than 4 inches reported in Arlington and Sterling.

Police departments across the region reported flooded roads and trees and wires down but no major damage.

Emergency officials in Harford County, Md., said there was an unconfirmed report of a tornado sighting.

On the Outer Loop of the Capital Beltway in Maryland, lanes were flooded near the Route 1 and Interstate 95 exits and a tree fell across all three lanes near Old Georgetown Road.

Thousands of power outages were reported by Potomac Electric Power Co. and Dominion Virginia Power, including more than 25,000 in Virginia at the height of the storm.

Earlier in the day, high water on Maryland’s Eastern Shore washed out roads and forced some evacuations from homes.

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