No Rest for the Wet and Weary

Hannigan said the city is concerned about a trio of forces that could combine tonight during high tide at 11:20. They feared the storm surge would hit when the tide peaks and more rain might fall.

Officials in Alexandria also warned of additional flash flooding all over the city after sweeping floodwaters in the city's West End trapped motorists, swept away cars, flooded homes and caused thousands of dollars in property damage Sunday evening.

Yesterday morning's commute went much better than Monday's crusher, but the continued rainfall washed out critical routes and choked traffic for many.

Water on Interstate 395 slowed drivers heading into the city, extending the morning rush. Drivers in downtown Washington suffered a second day of gridlock as parts of Constitution Avenue remained closed, signals were out on Independence and curb lanes of 12th Street NW were blocked as water was pumped from the Internal Revenue Service building.

On 17th Street NW, Rowena Reid described traffic as "a nightmarish mess." She and a friend spent 20 minutes going two blocks as they diverted around a closed portion of Constitution Avenue -- just like everyone else.

By mid-morning, Orange Line riders were reporting trips of 40 minutes or more and expressed frustration with Metro's lack of alerts.

Riders have complained all week that they have not received timely information, and Metro managers said yesterday that they were revamping their information systems.

But Gladys McCowin was just happy it wasn't as bad as Monday morning.

"Yesterday, I saw the commute and turned back around," said McCowin, a loan analyst at the Veterans Affairs credit union. "Today, it wasn't nearly as bad."