Power is being restored to the area after thousands were left without electricity in the wake of thunderstorms that hit the D.C. area Saturday night.
Storms generated rainfall, dangerous lightning and some downed tree limbs.
Montgomery County, Maryland, saw the worst of the outages — more than 1,000 remain without power shortly after 2 p.m., down from a high of 3,500 at 10:30 a.m. In neighboring Prince George’s County, more than 300 were without power. Several hundred more are without power in D.C. and Northern Virginia.
Silver Spring, Maryland, was particularly hard hit, with outages claiming traffic signals.
TRAFFIC ADVISORY: Thunderstorms overnight caused major power outages, over 80 traffic lights out in Silver Spring. Rt 29 at Stewart SB, all the way to Sligo Creek Pkwy, is completely out. University Blvd EB is out from Four Corners towards PG County, down to Piney Branch Rd. pic.twitter.com/PzPtXtA4Xx
— Montgomery County Department of Police (@mcpnews) July 3, 2022
Strong winds downed numerous large trees along the George Washington Parkway and Glebe Road, in north Arlington, late Saturday; the southbound lanes of both were closed for several hours.
Storm water runoff from Maryland surged downstream and led to rapid water rises on Rock Creek in the District. D.C. Fire and EMS responded to a number of partially submerged drivers after 1 a.m. on Rock Creek Parkway and Beach Drive, both of which were closed between Virginia Avenue and Broad Branch Road.
Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Spokesperson Pete Piringer said large trees came down in an area bordering Rockville and Potomac, with some striking occupied homes.
“Fortunately, there were no injuries,” Piringer said. “We handled about one call a minute, and most of it was in that particular area.”
Fire and Rescue also had to help drivers in cars “that were stranded in a couple of feet of water,” Piringer said. “Firefighters were able to respond and assist people out of those vehicles.”
Downed trees and branches Saturday evening blocked some local roads and on-ramps to Interstate 270.
Though most of the severe thunderstorm threat left the area at around 9 p.m., quick bursts and lingering showers remained a hazard into the early hours of Sunday.
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On Saturday evening, severe lightning in Gaithersburg, Maryland, delayed night games and city fireworks for safety concerns. Similar delays came to other cities in the region, with the city of Laurel implementing a similar delay.
Forecast
More comfortable humidity is forecasted for the second half of Sunday, with more sunshine emerging. Canadian high pressure will bring a gorgeous Fourth of July with seasonably warm temperatures but tolerable humidity.
The only chance for a storm is west of Interstate 81 where the humidity will start to creep back up during the second half of the day.
The next threat for rain and storms is with a front pushing in from the Great Lakes on Tuesday afternoon and evening. In the front’s wake, Wednesday will likely be dry and less humid.
SUNDAY: Less humid in the afternoon.
Wind: North 5-10 mph
TEMPERATURES: Mid-80s
MONDAY/JULY 4: Sunny and hot.
HIGHS: Near 90.
TUESDAY: Mostly Cloudy, humid. Scattered showers or an isolated storm.
HIGHS: Upper 80s.
WEDNESDAY: Mostly cloudy and humid. Scattered showers or an isolated storm.
HIGHS: Upper 80s.
