Flash Flood, Frederick
- When
- January 8, 7:00 AM EST to 12:00 PM EST
- Where
- Frederick County, Countywide
- Property damage
- $10,000
- Coordinates
- 39.472, -77.398 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flash Flooding in Maryland, January 8, 1998
Unseasonably warm and humid air plus developing low pressure over the Ohio Valley produced bands of heavy rain across portions of north central Maryland. At least 40 secondary roads, and several major thoroughfares, were closed during the morning.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 2 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $13,000
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 2
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
What happened
The episode as NWS LWX wrote it up.
Unseasonably warm and humid air plus developing low pressure over the Ohio Valley produced bands of heavy rain across portions of north central Maryland. The combination of tropical rainfall, saturated soil (due to recent snow melt) and time of year led to flash flooding of numerous small streams, creeks, and low-lying areas - especially in Frederick Co.At least 40 secondary roads, and several major thoroughfares, were closed during the morning. Included were state routes 26, 351, and 880. At least three vehicles were stranded on back streets in the city of Frederick. Rainfall totals averaged between 2 and 3 inches. Portions of the Big Pipe Creek watershed in northern Carroll Co reported flash flooding, with 3 or more roads closed. Some flooding was reported on the Monocacy River in the town of Detour.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
2 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Flash Flood, Carroll
- When
- January 8, 8:00 AM EST to 12:00 PM EST
- Where
- Carroll County, West Portion
- Property damage
- $3,000
- Coordinates
- 39.563, -77.022 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
What these are
- Flash Flood
- Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Tornado and Flooding in West Virginia, January 8 to 11, 1998
- Ice Storm in New York, January 8, 1998
- Flash Flooding in New York, January 8 to 9, 1998
- Tornado and Damaging Wind in North Carolina, January 8, 1998
- Flooding in New York, January 8 to 12, 1998
- Flash Flood in Mississippi, January 8, 1998
- Flooding in New York, January 8 to 11, 1998
- Damaging Winds in North Carolina, January 8, 1998
- Flash Flooding and Flooding in Ohio, January 8 to 11, 1998
- Flash Flooding in Virginia, January 8, 1998
- Flash Flood in New York, January 8 to 9, 1998
- Flash Flood in New York, January 8 to 10, 1998
More
Every storm in Maryland in 1998Every state in 1998This day in weather historyWarnings in Maryland, January 1998
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5628028, 5628029.