US storm: dead, without power

eastward, hitting the mid-Atlantic states on Saturday.

The heatwave has seen records smashed in DC. It was set to continue, said the National Weather Service — and it warned more severe weather was possible. Twitter reported spectacular, sustained displays of lightning and 2.4cm hailstones.

A state of emergency was declared in West Virginia where more than 500,000 were hit by power cuts.

The storm is locally referred to as a ‘‘derecho’’ — a violent, straight- lined windstorm associated with a fast-moving band of severe thunderstorms.

The phenomenon is not uncommon in the Mid-West but highly unusual on the US East Coast.

— AP