Maryland, 2000

Flash Flooding and Heavy Rain in Maryland, December 17, 2000

December 17, 2000 · NWS PHI · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

An unseasonably warm air mass and an intense low pressure system and cold front not only set the stage for an extremely windy day, but also produced heavy rain and flash flooding across the northwestern half of the Maryland Eastern Shore. A series of showers and thunderstorms with heavy downpours moved across the region during the first half of the 17th.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 3 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

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
3

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 PHI wrote it up.

An unseasonably warm air mass and an intense low pressure system and cold front not only set the stage for an extremely windy day, but also produced heavy rain and flash flooding across the northwestern half of the Maryland Eastern Shore. A series of showers and thunderstorms with heavy downpours moved across the region during the first half of the 17th. The heaviest rain fell from Kent Island in extreme western Queen Anne's County into the western half of Kent County and most of Cecil County. Doppler Radar storm total estimates showed about a 10 mile wide band of solid 3 to 4 inch rains from Fairlee in Kent County northeast through Elkton in Cecil County. Cecil County bore the brunt of the flooding. The flooding in Elkton was described as the worst since Hurricane Floyd with the Farr Creek area suffering the most flooding. Sections of U.S. Route 40 and Maryland State Route 213 were closed. The Big Elk Creek overflowed onto Delaware Avenue in Elkton and the Little Northeast Creek flooded in North East. The Stevensville (Queen Anne's County) storm total was 3.04 inches.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

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Event by event

2 flash flood, 1 heavy rain. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Rain, Queen Anne'S

When
December 17, 2:00 AM EST to 11:00 AM EST
Where
Queen Anne'S County, Stevensville
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
39.038, -76.085 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Cecil

When
December 17, 7:30 AM EST to 12:30 PM EST
Where
Cecil County, Countywide
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
39.562, -75.948 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Kent

When
December 17, 7:30 AM EST to 12:30 PM EST
Where
Kent County, West Portion
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
39.236, -76.096 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Heavy Rain
Rainfall totals unusual for the place and season that did not produce a flood.
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

More

Every storm in Maryland in 2000Every state in 2000This day in weather historyWarnings in Maryland, December 2000

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: 5167982, 5167980, 5167981.