ARLINGTON, Va. - Thunderstorms pounded the area throughout the day Thursday sending drenching rain and lightning across the region.

Late last night, firefighters arrived to flames pouring through the roof of a home on Rock Spring Road in Arlington just before 10:30 p.m. They say a bolt of lightening started the fire. No injuries were reported.

Earlier in the day, the sky opened up releasing sheets of rain.

"We needed this rain," said resident Kenneth Barber.

In D.C., many residents were caught off guard, but happy to see the storm.

"My mom and I have been growing a vegetable garden, so it's about time," said Carolyn Gerecht, D.C. resident.

The heavy rain soon flooded many local roads and highways.

"I started pouring rain [and] knocked the power out for a few minutes," said a driver. "there was a couple lightening strikes that struck very close."

At Congressional Country Club, a golfer practicing on the driving range got a big scare when a bolt of lightening struck close enough to send a charge surging through the ground. Although sources say the lightning didn't strike the 42-year-old male golfer directly, they say it hit nearby and traveled through the ground. The charge packed enough punch that paramedics had to rush the victim to the hospital. Witnesses say the victim was conscious and appeared to have suffered only minor injuries form the strike.

"Scary...more people get hit by lightening on the golf course than any way in the world," said a golfer.

"Really loud, loud thunder and lightning that came like that. The horn went off and it came almost immediately after the horn went off," said Jamey Nugent, a golfer.

The sudden storm apparently took golfers at Congressional Country Club by surprise. "It just started pouring rain and all of a sudden lightning started cracking everywhere and striking and knocked the power out for a couple of minutes," said Randy Brown, a contractor. "But there were a couple of lightning bolts that struck very close."

In the evening came another round of storms with huge bursts of lightening

"I was trying to get into the building but I didn't want to chance it with the lightening, because it was striking quite a bit real close to here," said a driver.

Despite the much-needed rain, the storms managed to keep first responders in the area busy.

 Email To Friend