Wet week across the DMV: Rain causes floods, more storms possible for region
Wet week ahead for DMV
Heading into the start of spring, the D.C.-area needed about a foot of rain through the Spring season to eliminate the drought in our area. While most still remain below that number, there is little doubt that the rainfall over the past several days has taken a significant chunk out of the drought conditions in some of the hardest hit areas. We should get a little idea when the drought monitor is updated on Thursday afternoon.
WASHINGTON - Heading into the start of spring, the D.C.-area needed about a foot of rain through the spring season to eliminate the drought in our area.
While most still remain below that number, there is little doubt that the rainfall over the past several days has taken a significant chunk out of the drought conditions in some of the hardest-hit areas. We should get a little idea when the drought monitor is updated on Thursday afternoon.
READ MORE: Maryland town covered in mud after floodwaters force evacuation of school
Big picture view:
Tuesday saw the D.C.’s wettest day in just over nine months — you have to go back to Aug. 9, 2024, for the last time D.C. picked up more rain in a one-day period than we did on Tuesday. The city of Baltimore set a new daily rainfall record and saw its wettest single day since Jan. 9, 2024 when the city picked up 2.62" of rain.
The National Weather Service once again placed much of the region under a flood watch again on Wednesday, set to expire at midnight. As thunderstorms fired in the afternoon, the high humidity and slow-moving steering winds have already led to a number of flash flood warnings in Virginia on Wednesday afternoon and evening.
Clean up begins after severe flooding in western Maryland
It's been a day of clean up and recovery after storms caused severe flooding in western Maryland. No one was injured but the damage has been devastating for many.
What's next:
The latest projections suggest that heavier thunderstorm activity could approach the immediate D.C. area during the later evening hours Wednesday.
While severe weather cannot be completely ruled out, the primary threat will remain very heavy downpours and the risk for flash flooding — particularly in areas just to the northwest of town.
Mountain zones, which were hit hard yesterday, could see additional rounds of thunderstorms on Wednesday night as well before things quiet down overnight. The National Weather Service put out a special statement warning that these areas are particularly prone to additional flooding after Tuesday’s heavy rainfall.
Heading into Thursday, indications are that much of the region will get a break from the more widespread shower and thunderstorm threats that kept the region busy during the early part of the week.
A few pop-up thunderstorms still look possible, and those that do see them would run the risk of heavy downpours and flash flooding. However, the threat should be a much more isolated one for Thursday. Parts of the region will stay dry all day.
Weekend outlook:
By Friday, temperatures well into the 80s to near 90°F in the afternoon paired with high humidity will bring another threat for more scattered showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon and evening hours. A few of these could be on the strong side as well. A cold front will then swing through the region on Saturday morning, bringing perhaps one final round of showers and thunderstorms before conditions clear out heading through the remainder of the weekend.
Even with the drier weather throughout the weekend, continued runoff from the rainfall this week and further thunderstorm activity at the end of the workweek could cause rivers and streams to run above flood stage through the weekend and into early next week.
If you live in flood-prone areas, be sure to keep your eye on the latest watches and warnings throughout the days ahead as rivers in our region grapple with what is already the wettest week of the year in many locations. The free FOX LOCAL app is a great resource for keeping up to date with the latest radar and weather alerts.
Next week:
Ready for a break from the rain already? Fear not, as some drier weather is inbound as we head through later Saturday and into early next week.
An upper -evel low swinging through the northeast will bring down some drier Canadian air by Sunday. This will lead to lower humidity and more sunshine heading through the front half of next week. So the region will see a nice break to absorb all these recent rains.