WASHINGTON - Another day of rain overwhelmed storm drains and tree roots Tuesday, setting records at two airports, causing localized flooding and toppling trees across the metro area, which remains under a flood watch until Wednesday morning.

Three cars were trapped under the bridge near the Rhode Island Avenue Metro station as fierce flash flooding submerged their vehicles. At least one driver climbed onto a vehicle's roof as rising water threatened to submerge the vehicles completely. All three did make it to dry ground and there were no serious injuries.

Fifteen minutes after public works crews cleared stopped up drains, Rhode Island Avenue reopened.

Police also briefly closed Mt. Olivet Road from West Virginia Avenue to Trinidad Avenue, NE, because of flooding.

The rainfall set records at Dulles International and Ronald Reagan National airports, which recorded 3.63 inches and 1.58 inches, respectively on Tuesday according to the National Weather Service (web | news) .

The District had received more than 3.5 inches of rain in a 12-hour period ending noon Tuesday.

Metro workers sandbagged the area around the Cleveland Park Metro station, which is prone to flooding.

ABC 7's Jennifer Donelan reports on D.C. flooding.

A home belonging to the Sisters of the Sacred Heart in Northeast was soaked when a gutter backed up and rain came flooding down the walls inside.

"It's God's cleanup," said Sister Kit Collins.

With a power vacuum and a lot of elbow grease, co-worker and friend Will Simpson rushed to their aid.

"I am very grateful," Sr. Collins said. "He is one of the most generous people I know."

The hope was to get the carpet dried out before mold and mildew could set in.

"I am allergic to mold and mildew so, you know, the lungs don't take it to well," Sr. Collins said.

U.S. Park Police say the weather also has caused some trees to fall, including one that was blocking southbound George Washington Parkway at Roosevelt Island. Crews have removed it and the roadway has reopened.

The wettest morning in recent memory tested the roots of trees all over the region.

Click on the arrow to watch Julie Parker's report on the tree that fell on Holly Eaton's home in Silver Spring.

Silver Spring resident Holly Eaton was on the phone with a neighbor when she heard thunder -- or so she thought.

"But the thunder didn't stop!" Eaton recalled. "And then all of a sudden I was looking out the window and I noticed the ground starting to pull away taking the tree and everything with it."

"I said to my neighbor ... "My tree's falling! My tree's falling!"

A large tree had toppled, crashing through Eaton's storage attic and knocking down the crown molding in the bedroom below.

"It didn't sound like a car crash it sounded like cars and wood but it must have been the crunching of the roof that I heard," Eaton said. "It's a very healthy tree. It's just the ground is so soaked."

The National Weather Service reported the Silver Spring area had received 4.10 inches of rain in the 24 hours ending Tuesday morning.

Another tree toppled early Tuesday morning on Perry Street NE, scratching a few cars and pulling down some wires.

Northeast resident Kathy Hoban observed, "The whole tree was down. It was a shock, I mean, because I thought just a branch had fallen."

But residents say they are not that surprised, as that tree has been showing weakness for the last week or two. The heavy rain was merely the last straw.

The rain let up only slightly in the afternoon, and the week ahead promises no respite. High water in flood-prone places will mean more floods, more downed trees and more closed roads.

Check for road closures in your area:

• District Department of Transportation Traffic Reports.
• Virginia Department of Transportation: 511 Road Conditions.
• Maryland Highway and Traffic Information.

 

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