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

Dangerous, Record-Breaking Heat to Continue in the Central and Eastern U.S.; Severe Thunderstorms in the Upper Midwest; Critical Fire Weather in the Four Corners

Dangerous, record-breaking heat will continue across most of the central and eastern U.S this week. Heat indices will exceed 100 degrees. Severe storms will be possible from the northern Plains into the Midwest and Great Lakes regions, as well as across the southern Appalachians Thursday, with the primary threat large to very large hail. Critical fire weather to continue in the Four Corners Region 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.