>> who have you killed? >> like i'm going to sit here and tell you that. >> so you are a murderer? we are brace for a pretty messy commute this morning as the d.c. region continues to recover from massive storms that left more than a million people in the dark. good morning. i'm aaron gilchrist. >> i'm eun yiang. this morning, hundreds of thousand of people in our region still do not have power. pepco reports more than 245,000 customers are out right now. dominion reports more than 175,000. and bge reporting more than 31,000 without air conditioning right now. novec reports more than 4,000

people without power and, is meco more than 6,000. it could take up to a week to restore power to all customers. federal government offices are open today. employees can opt for unscheduled leave or unscheduled telework. the dc government is also open today in maryland. montgomery county government offices are open today. prince george's county government is open but the liberal leave policy will be in effect for nonessential employees. in virginia now, fairfax county, the government there open with employees being granted unscheduled leave. the loudoun county government is open. we will have the status of other local governments at the bottom of your tv screen throughout the morning today. time for a first look at the forecast. veronica johnson is here with the latest now, whether with see calling for weather for people cleaning up. >> calming weather this morning because there has been storms coming through here and even

western portions were under a thunderstorm watch until 2:00 a.m. the thunderstorms are pushing east-northeast. two big clusters, one heading out now toward dover delaware. the other down to the south around southern maryland and northern neck. that area allens fresh right down to the northern neck around areas of 365 just south of ly leonard town. hail as well as very heavy rain. all heavy to the east and out of our area. so the rest of the area just looking at showers. those showers will end around 7:00 a.m. we're at 80 degrees right now. dew point temperature still high. 62 degrees. it's muggy out there with temperatures anywhere from the mid to upper 70s. most neighborhoods right now 80 degrees currently in dc. as far as your day planner forecast. 10:00 a.m., 2:00 p.m., 6:00 p.m. warm and muggy with a 30% to 50%

chance for showers and thunderstorms today. high temperature today going up to 95 degrees but feeling more like 97 degrees or so. so chance of showers and storms still in the forecast for today. >> all right. we've got that warning. thank you, veronica. metro is urging all riders to build in extra time to their commute this morning. tra transit agency says two dozen metro lines are are running on detour ruts because of downed power line or storm damage. that can lead to major delays throughout the day. all 86 rail stations will be open today. some stations may be operating on backup power systems and emergency lighting. that means escalators, platform displays, and pa systems may not work properly. if you drive into the district this morning vdot relaxing some of the hov restrictions on i-66 eastbound. the hov restrictions in

montgomery county also suspended this morning. that means anybody can use it inside the beltway during the morning rush hour. want to check on the rest of the conditions. it's been a crazy weekend, danella. >> that's true. around still is true on the drive in, a lot of dark intersections. so if you're heading out to work early this morning please be aware of that. keep the intersections, four-way stop signs. i cannot tell you enough to please just be patient and use caution this morning because it is going to be a tricky commute. a lot of roads still flooded, a lot of trees still down, a lot of debris, especially in the right lanes and sometimes even in the left lanes. let's head over to earlier accidents. not too bad. i-95 this time northbound had a crash there blocking one of your lanes. right now it's now on the right shoulder lane. southbound at route 123, crash there was blocking three of your lanes, but again, it's moved to the shoulder lane and your travel lanes are open. going to be watching the roads for you all morning long. back in ten minutes with another update. 4:04.

overnight four cars crashed. the lights were not working at the intersection of leesburg pike and chambers farm road. no injuries were reported. this is just one of hundreds of intersections where the traffic light is not working because of the power outages. many nont gory county, 440 intersections were without you power at last check. they say this morning's commute could be a free for fall. >> it's going to be a hellacious commute. not only in terms of the temperature but in terms of angst and anxiety and anger. it's almost it's like a jungle right now and all the rules have been thrown out of the window. >> aaa reminds driver it is you approach an intersection with the traffic lights out, treat it as a four-way stop. also, allow extra time to travel on those roads. another option is to take public transportation but allow for that time for the delays as well on that. amtrak's northeast corridor service will run on a normal schedule today. crews worked nonstop trying to clear tracks of trees and downed

power lines. passengers who have already bout a ticket but chose not to travel today can receive a refund or voucher for future travel. there were select tickets booked online but not printed can be changed or canceled as well. if you have any questions about this call 800-usa-rail or amtrak.com/alerts for the latest updates. the powerful storms caused lenity of problems for drivers around the area. a lot of gas stations either didn't have power or ran out of gas. some drivers were cruising around for an hour before finally finding a gas station. >> i went to like two dozen stations around rockville, ridge heights, potomac, all that and i ran out on the way up here. >> reporter: what was going through your mind, you're out of gasnd can't find a station? >> who is the lucky friend who is going to pick me up and take care of me until i find gas? >> gas station managers say they

are not sure. they say this storm caused more gas shortages than similar storms in the past. these storms are forcing local school systems to cancel. dc public schools are closed and so are montgomery ant prince william. alexandria city schools and falls church city schools. we'll have a complete list of closings on the bottom of the screen throughout the morning. and we are on early and we have you covered online as well. we will be posting updates all morning on our facebook and twitter pages. if you have any questions about anything storm related, use the #nbc4storm on twitter. >> we'll tell you all the questions answered as we move through the morning with we'll talk to officials with different power companies and transportation. questions, we'll try and get them answered. 4:07. ahead on "news4 today," a lack of power and hot weather taking a toll on some of our region's most needy. how people around the region are coping. we're watching more severe

weather in the area this morning. look at the radar here. what you can expect, next, with weather and traffic on the ones.

. this morning dozen of senior citizens are still without power at the lake ann fellowship house in reston. they were also struggling to find food and water but the community came to the rescue just hours after a story was posted online about their

struggles. dod dozens of concerned neighbors brought food to help them out in is a time when that's what's important. look after neighbors, look after your friends, make sure you call elderly neighbors. make sure everyone is okay. >> yeah. >> to not have air conditioning right now, it's just -- it's unbearable for a lot of folks out. >> there it is. let's check in with veronica for people who have no power or ac. >> yeah, the heat is going to ease up a bit, guys. still a dangerous situation today when you don't have any ac. take a look at the radar because i'm getting more reports now with some scattered power outages in st. mary's county in southern charles county. that's a huge area of orange, red, dark red that you see down right now in storm4 radar. this whole area with heavy rain, possible hail. hail also reported in damascus, virginia, earlier. all moving to the east. and into areas like valley lee, wind, and hoopersville in the next couple of minutes.

heads up to you folks there down across southern maryland. temperatures at 80 degrees. winds out of the north at 17. high is 95 degrees. by noontime you can see up to 90. again, a situation as we hit 95 where it will feel more like temperatures are in the upper 90s today. take a look. tuesday, wednesday, fout of july, 96 with a chance of showers and storms. your extended forecast coming up. >> thanks, veronica. just down trees, power lines and traffic signals on the blink. if you're traveling northbound 395 at duke, have a crash there blocking at least one of your lanes traveling in virginia. also in virginia taking the beltway outer loop of the beltway, at telegraph road, a disabled vehicle there blocking your right lane. look out for that driver and stick to the left. as i mentioned, downed trees slowing you down. southbound connecticut avenue

between denfield avenue and decatur avenue. you have debris blocking all of your lanes in that area. so if you're going to have to be careful. again, give yourself extra time this morning. aaron and eun, over to you. still to come, asking for more help. where crews are coming from to help get your lights back on. clear roads right now, but we are brace for a messy morning commute. danella will tell you what we can expect. weather and traffic on the ones

welcome back at 15 after the hour. here are the latest numbers for you and the situation as it stands right now. first, federal government offices open today. employees need to know you can opt for unscheduled leave or unscheduled telework. more than 450,000 customers are still without power in metro dc. utility companies say it could be the weekend before service is completely restored. traffic lights, they are still out all across the area. metro riders need to know you can expect a longer commute today. all metro stations should be open normally tomorrow in the dc metro area, at least five people have died from storm-related incidents. expect to see out of state utility crews all over the area today. we spotted these utility trucks from north carolina at clear wood road and video boulevard in bethes bethesda. pepco says it's bringing crews in from all over these t. east coast to help with the restoration effort. people across dc are looking for

some relief from the heat anyway we can. one woman in the northeast was heating dinner inside the air conditioning in her car. another man inside a vehicle with the air conditioning on. another man told us he sleeps on the porch with his cold cloth on his forehead. most of the people we talked to asked why they're not seeing pepco trucks in their neighborhoodses. >> i know there's been a concern that we don't see a lot of trucks out. we've been trying to restore infrastructure. without that infrastructure being in place, we can't -- it doesn't make sense to continue along the way into the neighborhoods. >> pepco says it's been working on damaged substations first. that's where power is converted to levels that go to actual customers. pepco says out of town crews are on route to dc and maryland and they will start working in the communities as well. pepco says it will take until friday to get 90% of its customers restored. that will be a who week. >> we have a cross the potomac now.

dominion republican power crews are trying to restore power to their customers. the this is the regional operation center in herndon. this is where worker are dealing with more than just simple power outages. >> catastrophic damage interprets for us into rebuilding our infrastructure. so there are places where we have to rebuild our entire area before we can get the lights back on to customers. >> dominion virginia power also calling in crews from other states trying to help restore power. since the air conditioning is out in the middle of the heat wave many cooling shelters are open throughout the region. if you want to check prince george's county is opening new shelters in addition to the 24-hour shelter already open at acrokeek academy middle school. and in montgomery recent, richard montgomery high school and rockville and white oak recreation. bring med sans, personal pillows along with critical phone

numbers. in the district, federal park and rec centers along with libraries. we have listed all the locations on your website, nbcwashington.com, search cooling center. there's a boil water advisory in effect. they say this is a precaution because of a drop in water pressure. that may have let bacteria and other contaminants into some pipes. customers should not drink tap water without boiling it first. utility says customers should be prepared to boil water until tonight while it continues to test the water. it says all the pumping stations are back at full power. 4:9. meanwhile, the washington suburban sanitary commission lifted the water restrictions for customers in montgomery and prince george's county. they say anybody who saw changes in water pressure or color, you need to flush your water lines in your home for about five minutes. utilities still encourages every customer to conserve water. leaders today will get their first taste of higher fares.

the new rates started yesterday. it now costs 5% more on the rails. bus fares went up ten cents. parking rates went up a quarter. metro enated the peak of the peak surcharge and that money will help use balance the trans agency's operating budgets. 4:20 is our time right now. we want to take another look at what the forecast is is. and if i can sort of hit you with a quiz, veronica, i'm curious. >> quizzes at 4:20 a.m. >> some of the storms that we got, what we got on friday was not actually -- so many people it felt hurricane like in terms of the impact. >> because the winds were that strong. >> and the term is derecho? >> it covers huge real estate in a short period of time. a lot of times with a derecho, it's the down draft winds that create so much damage. right along the line.

and the other thing is, yes, a lot of folks are saying, well, it is rare for the area, indeed. did a little bit of research. one out of every four years we get a derecho here. the ohio valley through the plains, they get about one a year. >> not necessarily this severe. >> no, they should be, yes. yeah. >> all right. well, today, calmer, a little bit? >> today, calmer, yes. i don't think we will have severe weather today. southern maryland is getting hit hard of not just cloud-to-cloud lightning but cloud-to-ground lightning. you can see the one area we're talking about on storm4 radar right now. south of waldorf, very heavy rain. leonard town and headed to the north and east. you folks around calvert beach are geting the lea i have rain but just south of leonard town, maryland, right now. saint marries is getting hate hard. this area of heavy rain, possible hail and high winds

headed towards saint mary's city and hoopersville within the next couple of minutes to about an hour. so that all headed to the east and headed out of our area. we're uk aing about some calmer conditions for the next couple of areas. threat of rain back after lunchtime today, after about noon. 80 degrees. dew point temperature, you know it. it's over 60%. it's already muggy out there. today's forecast, we're talking about partly sunny day with a 50% chance of showers and storms. again, the showers and storms come back after about noontime today. we'll see high temperatures getting up to 90 to 96 degrees. factor in that humidity and it will feel more like temperatures are up around 98, 99 degrees again today. that's why i said the heat is easing a bit but still a dangerous situation out there. as you look at the four-day forecast, that heat continues through fourth of july. for tomorrow, your high 94 degrees with a partly sunny sky. i think any showers or storms are going to stay west around areas of i-81.

but then for fourth of july we've got a 30% chance of showers and storms. that will be painly during the afternoon. again, humidity will be high on wednesday. then for thursday, more showers and storms with the high of 92 degrees. as you take a look at the ext d extended forecast for friday, saturday, and sunday, you will see highs still in the low 90s. sunshine quiet weather for the weekend and looking way ahead to the beginning of next week, guys, you will like there. looks like high temperatures will start to ease back into the 80s where they really belong. that's the average for this time of year. let's look at traffic now with danella. >> thanks, veronica. looking at the roadways and a disabled vehicle if you're traveling the beltway. outer loop as your make your way at telegraph road, vehicle blocking the right lane there. also, flooding really in a lot of flooding on many roads if you're traveling in fairfax county. see high standing water, avoid it. foksz mill road at hunt road, all your lanes are blocked by flooding there. also seeing flooding at hampton

road and van thompson road. give yourself extra time this morning. aaron and eun, over to you. >> thank you. trying times this past weekend for more than 230 people who were stranded at an amtrak station in west virginia. the train was traveling from new york to chicago. friday's storms knocked some trees on to the tracks. that left them stranded for more than 20 hours. buses finally came to pick them up saturday night. those passengers say being stuck, things weren't that bad. >> just long. i mean, they took good care of us on the train. very good care of us. we were always comfortable on the train. we just sat a lot and walked a lot. but, you know, climate wise, foodwise, everything was good. >> amtrak officials say the passengers were stranded for so long because the buses had a tough time navigating the west virginia mountains. four people still without power and considering hotel room, do plenty of comparison shopping. news4 checked prices. yesterday the motel 6 in

northwest washington was going for $500 a night. at the days inn in college park, $600. news4 called area hotels and office shlgs say they don't have control for the price for sites including hotels.com or expedia. this is a problem we see and when we have power outages. before you open your refrigerator, a few tips for what's safe to eat and what you should throw away if you lost power. if you kept the doors closed, a full freezer will stay at freezing temperatures for about two days. half full freezer, about one day. refrigerated foods should be safe as long as power is only out for a few hours. here's a quick list of what foods should be worrying about spoiling. meat, fish, poultry, all dairy and egg products as well, soft cheeses, and your cooked foods. these foods should be thrown away if they warm up above 40 degrees. >> if you're in doubt, just throw it out. if it smells funny, looks funny, just don't take the risk because you don't want to be sick on top of not having power.

4:25. 77 degrees. ahead on "news4 today," roads won't be the only problem with the morning commute. how much extra time metro says you will need if you are riding the rails.

morning. whether you're on the roads or using the rails, people around the dc region should be bracing for a rough commute this morning. good morning, everybody. i'm aaron gilchrist. >> i'm eun yang. welcome to "news4 today" for this monday, july 2nd, 2012. this morning hundreds of thousands of people in our area region do not have power still. metro -- pepco reports more than 243,000 customerses out right

now. dominion reports more than 157,000 and bge reporting more than 75,000 out air conditioning. novec reports over 4,000 and smeco more than 6,000. utility companies say it could take up to a week to restore power to all the customers. despite wide sprayed outages, many local governments will be open today. >> the federal government is open today, especially. however, federal employees can opt for unscheduled leave or unscheduled telework. dc government open as well. in maryland, montgomery county government offices are open for business today. prince george's county government is open but the liberal leave policy will be in effect for nonessential employees. in virginia, fairfax county government opened. employees are being granted unscheduled leave there, as well. loudoun county government is open but on unschedule leave for nonessential employees. we will have the status of other local governments at the bottom of your tv