45 first-hand accounts of flood events in District of Columbia, ranked by impact. Each is a NOAA-written narrative of the moment.
Showers and thunderstorms with very heavy downpours formed over the District for the 2nd straight day around 3 PM EDT and remained near stationary over all but far Southeast D.C. through 6 PM.
Read the full account →A nearly stationary boundary set up near the Potomac River weak low pressure developed along the boundary. There was plenty of moisture in place from the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico, and this combined with instability to produce very heavy rainfall rates in convection that…
Read the full account →Hurricane Isabel shut down Washington, DC on Thursday September 18 and Friday September 19. The city had days of preparation and many people including non-emergency government personnel were told to stay home. Tropical storm force winds spread north into the area by 4 pm.
Read the full account →A weak cold front settled over the forecast area from June 23 until June 27. Waves of low pressure rode northeast along the front. Flow in the atmosphere was parallel to the boundary, producing several rounds of training echoes.
Read the full account →*** Potomac River Flooding ***High dew point temperatures melted the entire snow pack within 12 hours, with liquid equivalents averaging 1 to 2 inches. Snowmelt combined with 1 to 3 inches of rain caused the worst regional flooding in over 10 years.
Read the full account →Hurricane Irene tracked up the Mid-Atlantic Coast during the evening hours of the 27th through the early morning hours of the 28th. Irene passed by just to the east of Ocean City, Maryland during the early morning hours of the 28th.
Read the full account →Hurricane Floyd made landfall just east of Cape Fear, North Carolina in the early morning hours of the 16th and moved north-northeast across extreme southeast Virginia to near Ocean City, Maryland by evening on the 16th.
Read the full account →If a coastal surge weren't enough, a river flood rivaling that of January 1996 struck the city from late on the 7th through early on the 10th, the result of heavy rains in excess of a foot in the upper reaches of the Potomac River basin while the remnants of Hurricane Fran moved…
Read the full account →An unstable atmosphere along with plenty of moisture led to the development of showers and thunderstorms. The thunderstorms were slow moving, and trained over the same areas in spots resulting in flash flooding.
Read the full account →An unstable atmosphere along with plenty of moisture led to the development of showers and thunderstorms. The thunderstorms were slow moving, and trained over the same areas in spots resulting in flash flooding.
Read the full account →An unstable atmosphere along with plenty of moisture led to the development of showers and thunderstorms. The thunderstorms were slow moving, and trained over the same areas in spots resulting in flash flooding.
Read the full account →An unstable atmosphere along with plenty of moisture led to the development of showers and thunderstorms. The thunderstorms were slow moving, and trained over the same areas in spots resulting in flash flooding.
Read the full account →An unstable atmosphere along with plenty of moisture led to the development of showers and thunderstorms. The thunderstorms were slow moving, and trained over the same areas in spots resulting in flash flooding.
Read the full account →An unstable atmosphere along with plenty of moisture led to the development of showers and thunderstorms. The thunderstorms were slow moving, and trained over the same areas in spots resulting in flash flooding.
Read the full account →A rapidly developing thunderstorm knocked down numerous trees and large limbs in upper Northwest. Some of the trees fell onto automobiles. The associated torrential rains flooded Rock Creek and other low-lying areas in Northwest.
Read the full account →A storm surge of 5.1 feet associated with strong southeasterly flow ahead of the remnants of Hurricane Fran created moderate tidal flooding along Washington Harbor.
Read the full account →An anomalously moist airmass ahead of a frontal boundary sparked numerous showers and thunderstorms across the District of Columbia. Instantaneous rain rates approached five to six inches an hour during the evening, but were transient.
Read the full account →An anomalously moist airmass ahead of a frontal boundary sparked numerous showers and thunderstorms across the District of Columbia. Instantaneous rain rates approached five to six inches an hour during the evening, but were transient.
Read the full account →Feeder bands of torrential tropical rains associated with the remnants of Hurricane Fran produced localized flash flooding and widespread power outages in the metropolitan area. The heaviest rains fell from the city west, with totals ranging from 1.5 to 3.5 inches.
Read the full account →Showers and thunderstorms developed early in the afternoon in an anomalously moist airmass along the Chesapeake Bay Breeze and remnant outflow boundaries.
Read the full account →Showers and thunderstorms developed early in the afternoon in an anomalously moist airmass along the Chesapeake Bay Breeze and remnant outflow boundaries.
Read the full account →A strong area of low pressure tracked from the mid MS River Valley on Jan 9th to the Northeast U.S. Jan 10th. A very strong pressure gradient ahead of the low pressure center resulted in a long period of strong SE winds gusting up to 52 mph that raised water levels to moderate…
Read the full account →Tropical Storm Isaias moved up the east coast, passing through southern Maryland on the morning of Tuesday, August 4th, 2020, spawning several tornadoes as well as flooding rain and tropical storm force winds.
Read the full account →An area of low pressure tracked through the Ohio River Valley and up through the Great Lakes Region. A strong low level jet enhanced moisture flow into the low pressure system leading to an extended period of moderate rain that caused widespread minor flooding with isolated…
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