A line of strong storms brought heavy rain, gusty winds and flooding to parts of the D.C. area early Monday, causing multiple drivers to need rescues from their vehicles on flooded roads.
While most of the heavy rain has moved out of the area, showers are expected to continue through Monday afternoon. A flood warning for small streams in southwestern Prince William County and the City of Manassas was extended through 9:15 p.m. See all weather alerts here.
One man spent 90 minutes trapped in his car before dawn Monday after flood waters rose on Beach Drive in Northwest D.C., he told NBC4's Chris Lawrence.
The water level on the road increased dramatically between 3 and 4 a.m., said Alex Hernandez, who got stuck during his second pass through the area.
"When I passed the first time, it was just a little bit high," Hernandez said. But when he returned at 4:15 a.m., the water was two feet higher, he said.
"It was crazy. I was trapped by one hour and a half, and the fire department was coming to take me out," he said. "It was crazy."
Another car got stranded at the other end of Beach Drive.
Fairfax Fire & Rescue said on Twitter they responded to several calls Monday morning for people trapped in cars that were stuck on flooded roadways. They rescued one person stranded on the roof of a vehicle that had been swept into the woods at Woodburn Road and Spicewood Drive. Another person was rescued at Hunter Mill Road and Clovermeadow Drive, and a third at Browns Mill Road and Pennycress in Vienna, the department said.
In Maryland, swift water crews from Montgomery County Fire & Rescue pulled one person from a car in the 1700 block of Brighton Dam Road.
Emergency responders are warning drivers to never try to drive through standing water.
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In Rockville, Maryland, hundreds of guests were evacuated from a Radisson hotel after two feet of water flooded an electrical room, Lawrence reported.
The downpour also lead to ponding in the HOV lanes of Interstate 395 near the Pentagon, and Interstate 66 had closures in both directions due to flooding. The eastbound lanes of I-66 were closed from Spout Run Parkway to Route 110. The westbound lanes were closed from the Theodore Roosevelt Bridge to Lee Highway.
The powerful rains also led to power outages. Dominion Energy had more than 4,700 customers without power shortly before dawn. Fewer than 700 are still without power, mostly in Fairfax County.
In southern Virginia, there were reports of a possible tornado Sunday night and the storm destroyed a house and trees in Danville.
Storm Team4 said the temperature drop we've had since the weekend is due to a cold front from the northeast that is duking it out with warmer air to the south.
Temperatures are expected continue to drop through Monday, falling into the lower 50s and upper 40s. Some areas may get a freeze Monday night and into Tuesday; a freeze watch has been issued for areas around Interstate 81.
Tuesday morning will have a cold start, with a chilly and breezy day expected.
