After a day of triple digit heat,the Washington,DC area is being pounded by ferocious derecho thunderstorms,with straightline winds ranging from 70-80 mph and massive lightning strikes.The high winds ripped the roof off a seven storey apartment building in Prince George's County,Maryland,leaving more than 500 people homeless.About 1.5 million residents have lost power,raising health concerns with the air conditioning being shut down in the brutal temperatures.Several jurisdictions set up cooling centers for those in need of a haven.
Roads were strewn with traffic barrels and trees,hindering motorists.In Springfield,Virginia,a tree fell on a car,killing one person and injuring three others.Also in Northern Virginia,another tree fell on a home,killing an elderly woman inside.Flash flood warnings were issued in Maryland.The storms began moving east from the Midwest earlier in the day.Hail up to an inch in diameter was observed.Another round of storms was reportedly on the way from the Ohio Valley,and it was feared it would hit the area before sunrise,but thankfully that did not occur.WTOP radio reporter Hillary Howard saw rare cloud to cloud lightning in the initial line of storms.
A PEPCO power company spokeswoman said it would be very safe to say that it would be days before power could be restored.A good assessment wouldn't be possible till morning light.On the National Mall,tents for the Independence Day celebration sustained damage.
The big heat wave followed a few days of pleasant,dry weather likened to that of California.
A derecho-pronouced "deraycho"- is a huge,protracted straightline windstorm preceding a squall line of swift and severe thunderstorms,typically moving from west to east across the continent.
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