Thunderstorm Rocks DC, NoVA: Outages, Flooding Ensue

WASHINGTON, DC—A thunderstorm wreaked havoc on the DC area Tuesday afternoon hours before the MLB All-Star Game is set to happen. Residents around Northern Virginia and DC continue to see outages and flooding.

The National Weather Service issued a flood warning for the District of Columbia, Arlington County, the City of Alexandria and part of Fairfax County. Forecasters say one and a half to two inches of rain have fallen within mostly an hour. The warning remains in effect until 6:30 p.m.

More than 17,000 customers are without power statewide, according to PowerOutage.US. Notable outages were reported in Alexandria (3,247), Fairfax County (11,514) and DC (2,141). Dominion customers in Virginia should report outages to 1-866-DOM-HELP (1-866-366-4357). Pepco customers in DC should call 1-877-737-2662.

So far there have been no changes made to tonight's All-Star Game. About 4:30 p.m. Washington Nationals staffers said the Home Plate Gate was closed for storm clean up but all other gates are open. The MLB will decide whether a game starts on time or is delayed.

Street flooding affected Alexandria, Arlington and DC, Tuesday afternoon. Forty people in 25 cars had to be rescued from the flooded George Washington Memorial Parkway, according to the Arlington Fire Department. All were safely rescued, and no one was injured.

Flooding also made for a soggy commute at some DC Metro stations.

Tweets from Nationals Park show the field protected with a tarp.

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Image via Arlington Fire Department