The Washington times., 1905-07-06

Jupiter Pluvius lost his temper last
night and came down on poor unsus-
pecting Washington like ton of bricks
The worst rainstorm the city has eX-
perienced in many years played havoc
with the theaters, drove scores Of per-
sons seeking a cool breeze into their
homes. and for an hour, to the rumble
of thunder and flash Of lightning, the
rain fell IN torrents.
The storm was purely focal, not hav-
ing had its generation in any one Of the
great storms which have been visiting
various secti pms of the country. It was
SO far local that certain sections of
Washington were not as much affected
as others and consequently the incon-
vcniences which it brought one place
were not suffered in others.
In the eastern section Of the city, for
instance, on Capitol Hill, the storm was
not nearly SO severe as IN the extreme
northwest. On Capitol Hill there was
but a series of good, refreshing showers,
none of which lasted for very long.
Almost Unprecedented Rainfall.
The northwest, however, was the OBJ
jective point for the wrath of Mr..
Pluvius. For an hour the rain came
down with all its force until at O'Clock
the fall registered 4.03 inches, something
almost unprecedented in Washington
II was the greatest rainstorm in twen-
ty years-that is. of an hours duration
and much damage was done in various
ways.
The storm tied up street railways for
more than an hour, and in the sections
of the city where excavations are being
made sor new buildings IL swept the dirt
almost into the houses and piled it up
sometimes q foot high.
The stream OF water rushing down
Fourteenth street was so great that the
catch basins could not receive and hold
II As a result Of this the water quickly
filled the conduits and stopped the cur
rent. Cars were lined up and could
not again be operated until the water
had drained off.
Out on the Chevy Chase line dirt was
washed I'D on the tracks in such an
out of use. At Connecticut avenue and
Newark street dirt was piled many
inches on the track, and farther. along.
at point where a new street has re-
Gently been cut, the dirt was Il foot
high for nearly seventy feet
Excursionists Get Wet.
| In addition to these occurrences there
were many other Inconvenience ex-
perienced by residents Of Washington.
| many to go for a sail down the river
or. the regular excursion steamers. The
storm, after sweeping over Washing
| ten, followed the example of many of
| its predecessors, and went skating down
| the river after the excursionists. The
black clouds which gathered early here
| locked all the more menacing TO the
people down the river, but no damage
vas done, other than giving many a
good soul a wholesale drenching.
! 1t was just a little before z o'clock
that the clouds began to gather, and en-
! tirely disarranged the plans of anyone
who had intended visiting the theateT.
| in consequence, for with that black
Streak across the sky few. persons had
, the courage TO venture forth
| Assurance IS given at the Weather
Bureau that Washington need net ex-
rect a severe storm in the near future.
| While the official forecast docs not .n-
| clude promise of clearing weather. II
was said this morning that there will
| b.. nothing more than series OF show
| ers. This the forecaster said, however,
would likely keep up for several days,
Lightning Strikes House.
lightning struck the home of Mrs.
sfbbald. in Chevy Chase. and threatened
for a few seconds TO DO even more dam
| age than resulted. 1t was shortly before
8 o'clock that terrific clap of thunder
like a report from cannon, sounded
through the house as the lightning
struck the chimney in the kitchen
Bricks were shewered In every direc-
ton as they were literally torn from
their place and the Kitchen was filled
with SCOT. Mrs. Sipbald happened to be
/ in the kitchen and warned the servants
to move away from the stove. The
| thunder and lightning had been SO sharp
that she thought It wise to warn them.
Scarcely had she done so when the ter
| rife crash came and the lids Of the stove