Rainfall totals that created Thursday's flash flooding in D.C. and some of its suburbs

Severe Weather and Flash Flooding From Plains and to Mid-Atlantic

Severe thunderstorms are forecast today, tomorrow, and Thursday from parts of the northern/central Plains into the Midwest, Ohio Valley, and Mid-Atlantic. Heavy rain associated with thunderstorms may result in flash flooding from the northern and central Plains through the Midwest and into West Virginia and also in southern Mississippi and southeast Louisiana today. Read More >

Thursday afternoon September 10th 2020

Early on Thursday afternoon, showers and thunderstorms arose along a weak atmospheric boundary oriented north to south across the Washington area. The storms that formed were fed by tropical moisture to our southeast which allowed for heavy rainfall rates. In addition, weak winds in the atmosphere kept the storms moving slowly. That combination of heavy rain and slow movement allowed for 2-5" of rain to fall in a relatively narrow corridor across parts of the Washington metro area. Most of that rain fell within 2 hours.

The heavy rains produced flash flooding of numerous roads and streams and first responders conducted several water rescues. The hardest hit areas were: the District of Columbia, Arlington and Alexandria Virginia, and the Maryland suburbs in Prince Georges and Montgomery Counties.