Northern Virginia, D.C. brace for destructive evening storms, hail and tornadoes

News Summary
- Thousands of federal employees were sent home early Monday as the Washington area faced a looming forecast for destructively strong storms including tornadoes hail and lightning
- More than a quarter of the cancellations were at Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport which was digging out from disruptions caused by Sunday storms
- By early evening more than million customers were without power across Alabama Georgia South Carolina North Carolina Maryland Delaware New Jersey Pennsylvania Tennessee West Virginia and Virginia all states along the storm system s path
- The National Weather Service issued a tornado watch for the greater D C area lasting until p m and a flood warning extending through Tuesday morning
By ASHRAF KHALIL and JEFFREY COLLINS Associated PressWASHINGTON (AP) The Washington area on Monday braced for a looming forecast of destructively strong storms, including tornadoes, hail and ligh [+3455 chars]