Storms predicted to hit the Washington region this week could slow down electric companies’ efforts to restore thousands of residents’ power, company officials say.

The National Weather Service predicts scattered thunderstorms throughout the week, with the strongest storms expected to hit Tuesday and Wednesday. Should the storms materialize, they will hit a region already ravaged by Friday night’s derecho — a storm with fierce, straight-line winds — that destroyed homes and cut power to 1.5 million in the Washington area alone.