By Michael Alison Chandler
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, August 27, 2007

Thousands were still without power yesterday evening after Saturday thunderstorms that brought a dramatic light show but little rain to mitigate the region's drought.

Yesterday brought relief, however, from Saturday's record-tying high temperatures and oppressive humidity.

"We really need a heavy, long, drenching rain to get us out of this drought . . . something torrential, one of these hurricanes coming up the coast. But we have to be careful what we wish for," said Jackie Hale, spokeswoman for the National Weather Service in Sterling.

Annapolis was the wettest part of the region Saturday, with 3.12 inches of rain, the Weather Service reported. But Reagan National Airport recorded only 0.61 inches, and Dulles International Airport recorded a scant 0.18 inches.

"Rain? What rain? Where I am, we got nothing," said Al Fields, a retired meat cutter who farms hay near Hillsboro in Loudoun County to supplement his fixed income.

Dulles International Airport has recorded 17.6 inches of rain this year, about nine inches less than average, according to the Weather Service.

In other parts of the region, the rainfall deficit is about half that. In agricultural terms, that means many corn crops are still knee-high and hayfields are lacking a shiny green luster.

"It's almost too late for it to really help us," Fields said. He cut hay once in late spring, and then the grass stopped growing, he said. He will probably cut it again in a few weeks, but he suspects he will not earn enough to offset what it costs in diesel fuel to operate the harvesting machinery.

For most of the region, even in places that stayed bone-dry, Saturday's storm brought a destructive combination of high winds and lightning.

By Sunday, power had been restored to most of the more than 50,000 businesses and homes left dark by the storm. But more than 5,000 customers in Anne Arundel County were still cut off by midafternoon, according to Baltimore Gas and Electric Co., along with 219 in Howard County.

Construction crews for Pepco were still trying to reconstruct power lines and wires for 400 customers in Southeast Washington and adjacent Prince George's County yesterday afternoon, and Allegheny Power reported that electricity was still out for 200 customers in Montgomery County and 675 in Frederick County.

Dominion Power said 900 Northern Virginians were still in the dark, most of them in the Springfield area.

More storms were expected last night and later in the week. Hale said it is typical in August to have such "popcorn storms," or storms that "pop up" when cold fronts meet hot, humid air, although she said the coming storms are likely to be spotty and might not have a significant impact on the drought.

Loudoun officials estimate that the county's agriculture industry will lose $24 million in revenue this year. Hay, corn and soybean farmers have been hit hardest. County supervisors petitioned Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) to grant Loudoun drought disaster status so it will be eligible for federal aid.