D.C.’s Power To The Fourth

Heavy rain and flooding didn’t stop the Fourth of July celebration in Washington, D.C., which attracts as many as 500,000 people to the area.

The annual “Capitol Fourth” concert and fireworks display, broadcast live on PBS, went on as scheduled and featured Vanessa Williams, Jo Dee Messina, Michael Bolton, JoJo, and the National Symphony Orchestra. Stevie Wonder received the National Artistic Achievement award during the broadcast.

The National Mall was evacuated at about 5:30 p.m. until a series of storms that brought heavy winds, hail and lightning passed through. Fireworks started at about 9 p.m.

About a foot of rain pelted the region the previous weekend, but it pretty much dried out by the Fourth.

Several buildings, including the U.S. National Archives, Smithsonian museums and some government offices, were closed for a few days mostly due to power outages stemming from the flooding.