Big storm hits Washington like it hit the British in 1814

by YankeeJim | July 26, 2010 at 04:19 pm

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A large fast-moving storm went through Washington DC on Sunday afternoon. I called my wife who was shopping at the mall with my daughter to tell them a big storm was on the way and they should stay at the mall awhile longer. It was perfectly clear when I made the call, though with igoogle weather, I could see the radar and the storm on the way.

I snapped a picture of the trees blowing in the wind. In a few minutes I saw a tornado cloud forming. Then all went black.

When it was over, 400,000 homes were without power and 2 people were dead.

A storm like that hit the British just after they ignited the White House in 1814 during the War of 1812. While the American troops were helpless against the British regulars and the President and his wife were high tailing it out of town, the storm did in the invaders, sending them back to the boats and their subsequent defeat in Baltimore.

“Hundreds of thousands still without power; Fast-moving storm kills two

By Stephanie Lee, Mike McPhate and Martin Weil

Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, July 26, 2010; 1:07 PM

Utility crews worked through the night and into Monday morning to fix widespread power outages after one of the most violent and destructive thunderstorms in years ripped across the region, knocking down trees and power lines, starting fires, damaging houses and causing at least two deaths.

A 6-year-old boy, Eric Lawson of Sterling, was killed when he was struck by a falling section of a tree in Loudoun County about 3:15 p.m. Sunday. Michelle Humanick, 44, was killed when a tree fell on a minivan she was driving in College Park about 3:30 p.m.

Power was cut off to a WSSC plant that supplies 70 percent of the water for Montgomery and Prince George's counties. Authorities asked residents to curb consumption and refrain from any outdoor use.

A spokeswoman for Pepco, the region's hardest-hit utility, said the company was borrowing crews from other utilities working in 12-hour shifts to free lines and poles pinned beneath toppled trees. It was too early to predict a return to normal service, spokeswoman Mary-Beth Hutchinson said Monday morning, but the company is expecting a "multi-day restoration."

"The volume of work is staggering," Hutchinson said.”