Storms bring in cooler temperatures

July 28, 2005|by TARA REILLY

WASHINGTON COUNTY

A brief thunderstorm that rolled through Washington County late Wednesday afternoon left behind cooler temperatures that are expected to last over the next several days, according to the National Weather Service.

The county was under a severe thunderstorm watch until 10 p.m. Wednesday. At about 4:30 p.m., the National Weather Service reported a tornado developing two miles southwest of Hagerstown, prompting a tornado warning for the county until 5 p.m.

The tornado never materialized and the warning expired.

"We have not had any reports of tornadoes," Calvin Meadows, meteorological technician for the National Weather Service in Sterling, Va., said Wednesday.

The thunderstorm watch was lifted at about 9:30 p.m.

The quick storm dropped .24 inch of rain in Hagerstown, according to Hagerstown weather watcher Greg Keefer's Web site, i4weather.net.

Local police said they had no reports of storm-related injuries or accidents. A tree fell on a power line on Md. 491, but the county dealt with it quickly, state police said.

The high temperature in Hagerstown Wednesday was 96 degrees. The high temperature, along with high humidity, put the heat index at 105 degrees, according to the Web site.

The National Weather Service issued a heat advisory for the area through 8 p.m. Wednesday, cautioning people to stay in air-conditioned places to avoid heat-related illnesses.

Cooler temperatures are expected to begin today and last through the first half of next week, Meadows said.

Today's high will be in the upper 70s and climb to the low 80s over the weekend, Meadows said.

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