UPDATE: Traffic Lights Back In Synch

All 200 of the county's traffic signals along the Route 355 corridor that were not synchronized have been repaired, the county said in a news release.

Original post, 6:20 a.m.: About 200 traffic signals along Route 355, including lights along Rockville Pike, are not synchronized for Wednesday morning's rush hour, the county said in a news release.

The signals, in Rockville, Derwood, Gaithersburg, Germantown and Damascus are operating and are cycling red, green and yellow. But they are not synchronized with each other "and have not switched to rush hour mode, which provides more green light time to the predominant flow of traffic," the release said.

Drivers should expect traffic delays. Commuters are urged to take public transportation or avoid the affected portion of Rockville Pike if at all possible, the release said.

Officials told WTOP that they hope to have the problem fixed by noon. The problem, which affects about one-quarter of the county's traffic signals, appears to have begun about 10 p.m. on Tuesday as strong storms rolled through the county, an official told WTOP.