Thunderstorms Soak Region; 90,000 Lose Power Amid Hail, Fires

Afternoon and evening thunderstorms, even more powerful than those in the morning, pelted the Washington region yesterday with rain and hail while toppling trees, starting fires and cutting off electricity to more than 90,000 homes and businesses.

Under dark, mottled skies, the storms swept across the region, bringing sudden gusts of wind and deluges of rain that amounted to 0.66 inch at Reagan National Airport.

A European linden tree, which had been planted 69 years ago, according to a White House spokesman, came down on the North Lawn of the White House grounds.

House fires, apparently the result of lightning strikes, were reported in the District, in Potomac and in Annandale.

In Annandale, flames leapt "way high" from a burning house in the 3400 block of Arnold Lane, neighbor Dana Vader said.

She also saw a nearby tree "erupt in flames," and two bolts of lightning struck "extremely close to the house" during the afternoon storms, she said.

Lightning was also blamed for house fires on Utah Avenue in Northwest Washington and in the 9900 block of Avenel Farm Drive in Potomac.

The fire on Avenel Farm Drive left "a gaping hole in the attic," said Montgomery County fire department spokesman Pete Piringer.

The homes and business that lacked power at some point included more than 30,000 in Baltimore County, more than 14,000 in Northern Virginia and a total of 20,000 in the District and nearby Maryland.

A tree that fell into wires blocked Route 236 and Wakefield Chapel Road southwest of Annandale.

The National Weather Service was told of a 65-mph wind gust northwest of Crownsville in Anne Arundel County.

Hail fell in Largo and in Loudoun County. About 5:15 p.m., a peak time for homebound traffic, hail fell at the juncture of the Capital Beltway and the Baltimore-Washington Parkway.

Overall, the day's rain seemed heavier in the afternoon, but not everywhere.

At Dalecarlia Reservoir, 1.22 inches fell in 40 minutes in the morning.