Heavy Rain in Maryland, July 26, 2001

Name: Heavy Rain in Maryland, July 26, 2001
Start: 2001-07-26T13:00
End: 2001-07-26T19:00
Location: Maryland

July 26, 2001 · NWS LWX · 4 events in 4 counties and zones

Storms with heavy rainfall moved across south central Maryland between 2 and 8 PM EDT on the 26th. 27 inches fell at Brown Landfill.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 4 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: 4

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.

Storms with heavy rainfall moved across south central Maryland between 2 and 8 PM EDT on the 26th. In Prince George's County, 3.84 inches of rain was recorded in Accokeek and 2.27 inches fell at Brown Landfill. A basement flooded in Clinton where 4.51 inches was reported. Other spotters across the southern portion of the county reported rainfall amounts between 2.25 and 4.50 inches. In Charles County, 4.38 inches was recorded in Waldorf. In Calvert County, Meadow Lane in Breezy Point was flooded by runoff. Rainfall totals included 4.25 inches in Dunkirk, 4.18 inches in Huntingtown, and 3.00 in Prince Frederick. In St. Mary's County, rainfall totals included 5.15 inches in Morganza, 3.48 inches in Hollywood, 3.36 inches in Oraville, and 2.90 inches in Mechanicsville.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Baltimore/Washington wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 26, 9:00 AM EST, 4 hours earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 26, 9:00 AM EST, 4 hours before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE/WASHINGTON
1000 AM EDT THU JUL 26 2001

SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS MOVING THROUGH WESTERN HALF OF CWA AT
TIME... AND SHOULD BE INTO THE METRO AREAS WITHIN THE NEXT COUPLE OF
HOURS. SURFACE FRONT ALONG THE MD/PA BORDER AT TIME... AND PRECIP
EXTENDING ALONG THE FRONT WESTWARD THROUGH WV AND INTO OHIO PER
KRLX/KPBZ RADAR. OHP FIELDS SHOWING MOSTLY 1/4 TO 1/2 INCH PER HOUR
IN THE STRONGEST CELLS.

06Z ETA AND 12Z RUC BOTH BRING FRONT SLOWLY THROUGH THE AREA TODAY
AND THIS EVENING. 12Z IAD SOUNDING SHOWING PW VALUES OVER 2
INCHES... AND INGREDIENTS IN PLACE FOR SOME HEAVY RAINS. FLASH FLOOD
WATCH IN EFFECT FOR AREASALONG AND WEST OF THE BLUE RIDGE... WHERE
SOME LOCATIONS SAW SOME MODERATE RAINFALL YESTERDAY. EAST HAS BEEN
PRETTY DRY THE PAST COUPLE OF WEEKS... AND APPEARS TO BE ABLE TO
HANDLE A GOOD SOAKING WITHOUT ANY PROBLEMS.

GOING FORECAST HAS A GOOD HANDLE ON THE SITUATION. WILL BE ISSUING
AN UPDATE AROUND 1015 AM TO JUST TWEAK THE WORDING A LITTLE BIT.

.LWX...
DC...NONE.
MD...FLASH FLOOD WATCH FOR THURSDAY FOR ZONES MDZ002>003.
VA...FLASH FLOOD WATCH FOR THURSDAY FOR ZONES
VAZ021...VAZ025>031...VAZ036>039.
WV...FLASH FLOOD WATCH FOR THURSDAY FOR ZONES WVZ048>055.

MARGRAF!

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

4 heavy rain. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Rain, Prince George'S

When: July 26, 1:00 PM EST to 7:00 PM EST
Where: Prince George'S County, South Portion
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 38.830, -76.847 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Rain, Charles

When: July 26, 1:00 PM EST to 7:00 PM EST
Where: Charles County, Countywide
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 38.474, -77.013 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Rain, Calvert

When: July 26, 1:00 PM EST to 7:00 PM EST
Where: Calvert County, Countywide
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 38.535, -76.531 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Rain, St. Mary'S

When: July 26, 1:00 PM EST to 7:00 PM EST
Where: St. Mary'S County, Countywide
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 38.216, -76.529 (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.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Maryland in 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings in Maryland, July 2001

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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5259334, 5259335, 5259336, 5259337.