A late-afternoon thunderstorm knocked out power to at least 120,000 customers across the Washington region Thursday, with falling trees hitting cars and homes.
The storm appeared to have hit hardest in Northern Virginia, where about 63,000 customers lacked power in the early evening. Pepco reported about 61,000 outages throughout the District, Montgomery County and Prince George’s County.
Downed trees crushed cars and fell onto homes in the Alexandria area, said John North, Alexandria Fire Department battalion chief for special operations. He said no serious injuries had been reported and crews were still assessing the damage.
Dozens of trees also fell in Prince George’s, said fire and emergency services spokesman Mark Brady. He said trees struck several houses and vehicles and some people suffered minor injuries. Most were treated by paramedics, Brady said, but a few were taken to the hospital.
Lightning struck one house in Washington on the 300 block of Cathedral Avenue NW, said fire department spokesman Pete Piringer. He said the lightning didn’t cause a fire.
Metro trains on the Yellow and Blue lines were delayed after two panels of an outdoor platform canopy came loose at the King Street station, said Metro spokeswoman Angela Gates. No one was injured but a train scraped the hanging ceiling. Trains had to share a single track in each direction.
— Emily Babay
