Concert on National Mall shut down by thunder

[May 29, 2012]  WASHINGTON (AP) -- The National Memorial Day Concert has been canceled due to a line of thunderstorms that moved into the District of Columbia on Sunday night.

About halfway into the concert, an annual event on the National Mall, host Gary Sinise told the audience there was a severe weather warning and advised concertgoers to leave and seek shelter.

Mike Musher of the National Weather Service says the thunderstorms developed over Pennsylvania as part of the weather system that created record high temperatures in the Midwest on Sunday.

The Memorial Day concert, broadcast by PBS, features songs from pop and country performers, patriotic music from military bands and stories of heroic acts by U.S. troops. Country singer Trace Adkins and rock band Daughtry had already performed before the plug was pulled Sunday.

[Associated Press]

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