Left the store at 5:48 p.m. today, expecting my normal 22 -minute, 12 -mile commute. It was raining hard but I had no idea how bad the flooding was, though I had heard on the radio all day about flash flood warnings. My 22 minutes turned into a 98-minute white knuckle ride as my mighty 4 x 4 Tacoma forded five deep water areas on Pole Road, US HWY 1 at Belvoir, Beulah Rd, Telegraph Road and Hooes Road.

Had I been in my car or motorcycle - no chance. Cars were piled up and stalled everywhere, some floating in the water with occupants inside, rushing water surrounding them. This on major highways! One elderly woman in a SAAB had water up to the doorhandles and her car stalled on US 1. I debated trying to rescue her, but the water was rushing by at a good clip and it was at the top of my tires on the Tacoma. I wouldn't have been able to get the door open and would have had to crawl out the window, and its a good bet that with the rushing water I'd not have maintained my footing, so I settled for calling 911 and was put into a holding que....first time that has ever happened as well. When they finally came on the line they said they already knew about her and in my rear view mirror I saw the big hook n' ladder truck trying to make its way through all the stopped cars, so I knew she would be alright.

Many people panicked and just stopped driving in the middle of the road when they came up to rushing water. That made it very difficult for those of us in higher ground clearance trucks to get around them and ford the waters. Gotta tell ya, I've never driven in water that high and that fast before - but I knew the dangers of getting swept away. I watched most of the five flooded areas I crossed until I saw a similar vehicle like mine make it across, then I went. Two people dead already in the county from the flood waters and 50 minutes ago Fairfax County Police put out a call for people with boats to come to the Newington area of Cinder Bed Road as they needed to rescue several cars floating near the DOT facility with people in them, but they had no way to get to them. I don't own a boat to go help - but its close by ....

Pretty freaky stuff. My Toyota Tacoma proved its worth tonight. So did a lot of higher/taller 4 x 4's. I might not be able to open the store tomorrow, its still raining and there is no way to get to my store that doesn't take me through a flooded area. Even I-95 is now closed from flooding...and that's a big highway, the lifeline of the East Coast.