Severe thunderstorms swept through metro D.C. Thursday afternoon, bringing lighting strikes, hail and flooding.
The line of storms included damaging winds that downed trees and limbs, as well as hail as large as a quarter-inch and cloud-to-ground lightning, Storm Team4 Chief Meteorologist Doug Kammerer said.
Two workers at Dulles International Airport were injured by debris flying in strong winds, an airport spokesman said. Dulles briefly stopped all planes from departing and arriving as crews checked the runways for any more debris and moved luggage carts and other material back into place.
Reagan National Airport reported delays of 45 minutes to one hour due to weather during the height of the storm.
A home on Kings Valley Road in Mongtomery County, Maryland was struck by lightning Thursday afternoon, Mongtomery County's fire department spokesman tweeted. Smoke alarms in the home alerted the people inside, who evacuated with their pets.
Another lightning strike, at Washington Monument State Park on the Appalachian Trail near Frederick, Maryland, tossed three visitors who were taking shelter to ground. One hiker had to be treated for a head cut, according to a tweet from Maryland Natural Resources Police.
Fairfax County, Virginia emergency officials reported many limbs and trees down. In Montgomery County, a large tree fell on New Hampshire Avenue at Georgia Avenue, blocking all lanes of traffic.
Power outages popped up throughout the area, including almost 2,000 Pepco customers in Prince George's County and more than 13,200 Dominion Power customers in Fairfax at the height of the storm.
The National Weather Service has canceled its flash flood warning for D.C.; central Prince George's and southeastern Montgomery counties in Maryland; as well as southeastern Fairfax and Arlington County in Virginia and the city of Falls Church.
Severe thunderstorm warnings in much of the rest of the area also expired.
Meteorologists will be updating the evening forecast and on NBC Washington.
