Evening star., 1953-07-23
Storm Eases
Drought, Crops
May Be Saved
60-M.P.H. Gusts
Fell Trees and
Snurl Traffic

Heavy rains here and in nearby
areas last night brought relief
to parched fields. caused flash
floods and other storm damage.
The important thing is that
the drought was broken in a
wide area.
Scattered showers fell again
this morning but the skies began
clearing later. The Weather
Bureau said 1t would be fair and
slightly cooler tonight with a
low of about SO degrees.
For the first time in eight
days the temperature is expected
to remain below 90 degrees,
probably reaching only about "a
by this afternoon.
From the time the storm broke
at 4 pm. yesterday. the Weather
Bureau station at National Air
port recorded 1.46 inches of rain.
The figure was released by the
bureau this morning.
DOwnpOur in Maryland.
Baltimore recorded 3.27 inches
OF rain while Clear Spring, near
Hagerstown. Md. had IL inches
and many flooded homes.
Although the rain helped
nearby areas of Virginia, the
drought was still serious in much
of the State. Gov. Battle yes
terday appointed a 14-man COM
mittee of bankers and agricul-
ture leaders to look into the
drought damage.
In the District, the storm broke
about a pm. while the tempera-
lures stood at 90 degrees. With
in Is minutes the thermometer
dropped 20 degrees.
Gusts as high as 60 miles an
hour accompanied the storm in
the city and nearby counties.
Trees were blown down, wires
felled and traffic tied up as the
rush hour crowds tried to get
home.
Visibility at National Airport
was so bad that flights were
restricted briefly.
Storm Beats Schedule.
The Weather Bureau said the
storm had been centered over the
Kentucky area for several days.
1t began moving slowly toward
the District yesterday morning,
but suddenly speeded up in the
afternoon and arrived much
ahead of schedule.
Tomorrow will be fair and less
humid. This type of weather
should prevail for the next few
days.
TakOma Park Radio Off.
In the District, the Potomac
Electric Power Co. reported at
least 80 wires down. A wire fell
at $50 am. today in the TOO
block of Carroll avenue. Takoma
Park. knocking out the towns
police radio for more than an
hour.
A tree fell across a parked car
in the 2300 block of MasSachu-
setts avenue NV, causing 81 900
damage, then struck a car driven
by Mrs. Mildred K. Rice. 1912
Mount Eagle road, Alexandria.
Mrs. Rice was not hurt but her
car suffered $500 damage. The
parked car was owned by Will
liam Atkinson, 2116 Thirty
seventh street NV.
Lightning hit a wire which fell
on car at Ridge road and
South Twenty-third street, Ar
lington. The driver, Mrs. Gloria
Campbell, 1905 South Queen
street, Alexandria, was treated
at Arlington Hospital for minor
injuries.
Water Main Breaks.
The 600 block of Ninth street
Sc. was barricaded off for hours
after a water main broke. A
transformer caught fire in the
300 block of Dale street, Silver
Spring.
Two cars collided on Four
teenth street Bridge at the
height of the storm. No one was
hurt but traffic was tied up for
short time.
The 30-foot rear wall of a
SupermarKet under construction
near East-West highway and
Georgia avenue. Silver Spring.
was knocked over by the wind.
Power failures in several parts
of Arlington cut electric service
for several hours.