Photos: Flooding prompts water rescues, road closures across mid-Atlantic
A rare summer rainstorm triggered significant flooding from Pennsylvania and West Virginia to New Jersey spanning Friday to Saturday.
Gov. Jim Justice of West Virginia declared a state of emergency for northern portions of the state on Saturday in response to the flooding rain.
As early as late Friday morning, some suburbs around Washington, D.C., started experiencing flash flooding.
Heavy and slow-moving storms caused flooded roadways in Montgomery County, Maryland. According to emergency managers, water rescues were needed for trapped vehicles in floodwaters.
Several roads were also closed in Baltimore due to high water on Friday evening after a band of heavy rain moved over the city, a 911 call center reported.
The Maryland Science Center in Baltimore's Inner Harbor received over 4 inches of rain in 24 hours, with most of the rain falling during Friday evening and overnight.
Atlantic City, New Jersey, shattered Saturday's long-standing daily rainfall record of 2.21 inches from 1884. Georgetown, Delaware, also broke its rainfall record of 1.07 inches from 1969 on Saturday.
Southwestern Pennsylvania and northern West Virginia were particularly hit hard by flooding as a band of heavy rain trained over the same area for over six hours on Friday night.
Numerous water rescues were performed in Washington County, Pennsylvania, and some residents were forced to evacuate their homes due to the rising flood waters.
The torrent of water sent a large amount of runoff into streams and rivers.
The Little Patuxent River at Savage, Maryland, rose 7 feet in just three hours on Friday night. The level of the West Fork River at Enterprise, West Virginia, was less than 3 feet on Friday, but reached 21 feet (minor flood stage) on Saturday afternoon.
The Monongahela River south of Pittsburgh reached major flood stage on Saturday night. The river is projected to fall below flood stage early this week, according to hydrologists at the National Weather Service.
Emergency management reported that numerous roads were closed in and around Oakland, Maryland, due to flooding.
Four Mile Run flooding in South Arlington, Virginia. (Twitter photo/@JosephFraker)
Even though the rain has ended across the region, rough seas will continue to endanger swimmers at the mid-Atlantic and southern New England beaches through Sunday. Residents and motorists should still remain alert for flooding along creeks and some rivers.
A stretch of dry and comfortable weather will follow for the final days of July, allowing clean-up efforts in flooded areas to commence.
Heavy rain triggered flooding in Mount Rainier, Maryland, on Friday night. (Twitter photo/@DBjd13)
Roads quickly became flooded in Stone Harbor, New Jersey, on Friday night. (Twitter photo/@Zeke_O)
Heavy rain caused flooding in Stone Harbor, New Jersey, on Friday night. (Twitter photo/@Zeke_O)
The ramp from Maryland Route 295 to Interstate 95 was temporarily closed due to flooding on Friday evening. (Photo/Maryland Transportation Authority)
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