D.C. Area Gets One Month's Worth of Rain in One Day

Wednesday's heavy rainfall brought a month's worth of rain to the D.C. area in just 24 hours.

All three area airports broke rainfall records, with Dulles International Airport receiving 3.99 inches of rain, Baltimore-Washington International Airport receiving just over 3 inches and 2.7 inches of rain pouring down at Regan National Airport.

Storm Team4's Tom Kierein says some smaller creeks and streams will begin to recede Thursday, but major rivers in the area will remain at or above flood level. At 22 feet, the Rappahannock River at Fredericksburg was four feet above flood level Thursday, making moderate flooding a possibility.

In Laurel, Md., a leaking joint on the dam on the Patuxent River began to pour water onto a nearby construction site. Concerns that the water would cause erosion around the buttress that supports the dam prompted the opening of the floodgates and evacuations in some areas.

The evacuation was lifted around 8 a.m. Thursday

According to WSSC, two Fort Washington facilities are experiencing sewer overflow, though the spill shouldn't affect drinking water. Schools in Culpeper County and Charles County were on a 2-hour delay Thursday, May 1.

Rescue crews in both Virginia and Maryland spent most of Wednesday pulling stranded drivers to safety. In Prince George's County, crews rescued a driver of a white SUV after a portion of the vehicle became submerged in Bowie.

A tanker driver was pulled to safety in Loudoun County after he became stranded in flood waters.

In Leesburg, drivers were forced to make U-turns where small secondary streets were flooded in low-lying areas.

"I've got to go a half-mile out of the way; not a problem," said one driver on Shreve Mill Road, where a stream swallowed up the one-lane bridge not far from the Dulles Greenway.

The fast-moving water collected logs and other debris, so road may be a mess even after the floodwaters recede.

The system that found its way to the D.C. area was the same one that produced severe weather in the mid-Mississippi Valley, but it changed as it moved east.

Expect dry and mild weather heading into the weekend.

SOME CLOSURES DUE TO FLOODING CONCERNS, HIGH WATER

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The following roads are closed in the area due to flooding:

Montgomery County

  • Northbound 29 closed from Crestmoor Drive to Lockwood Drive
  • West Old Baltimore at Ten Mile Creek
  • Woodfield (124) at East Village Avenue
  • Log House Road
  • Kindstead Road at Kings Valley and Burnthill Road
  • Riffle Ford Road at Seneca Creek
  • Brighton Dam Road at Bordly to Bridge
  • Zion Road at Gregg Road to Sundown Road
  • Bonifant Road at Carona Drive to Alderton Drive
  • Rileys Lock at River to End
  • Gold mine Road at Chandlee Mill Road to 650

Washington, D.C.

  • West Beach Drive and Rock Creek Parkway
  • Ramp on Massachusetts Ave NW to Rock Creek Parkway
  • Delcarlia Parkway off Massachusetts Ave and Westmoreland Circle NW
  • 3000 block of Park Drive SE
  • 3400 block of Water St NW (at Capital Crescent Trail).

Loudoun County

  • James Monroe Highway at Oatlands Road in Aldie is closed.

Fairfax County

  • Prosperity Avenue at Hillside Place

Alexandria

  • Route 1 at Telegraph Road

Howard County

  • Harriet Tubman Lane at Cedar Lane
  • Seneca Drive at Martin Road
  • Woodland Road at Centennial Park East Entrance
  • Haviland Mill Road at the Montgomery County Line
  • Mink Hollow Road at the Montgomery County Line
  • Little Patuxent Parkway at South Entrance Road
  • Old Columbia Road at Guilford Road
  • Levering Ave at River Road
  • Vollmerhausen Road at Guilford Road
  • Furnace Ave at Race Road
  • Old Columbia Road at Middle Patuxent River
  • Sheppard Lane at Folly Quarter Homewood Sheppard Traffic Circle
  • Carroll Mill Road at Folly Quarter Road
  • Washington Blvd at PG County Line
     

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