Flash Flood in Maryland, May 29, 2002

Name: Flash Flood in Maryland, May 29, 2002
Start: 2002-05-29T06:00
End: 2002-05-29T08:00
Location: Maryland

May 29, 2002 · NWS LWX · 1 event in 1 county or zone

A thunderstorm with very heavy rainfall moved through the northern portion of Allegany County between 6 and 8 AM. Flood waters closed Kreigbaum and Cash Valley roads and Route 35.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

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Floods
Wind
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Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
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The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 1

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.

A thunderstorm with very heavy rainfall moved through the northern portion of Allegany County between 6 and 8 AM. Flood waters closed Kreigbaum and Cash Valley roads and Route 35. Several other side streets were also flooded. Over 30 homes reported flooded basements.

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 May 29, 3:00 AM EST, 3 hours earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 29, 3:00 AM EST, 3 hours before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE/WASHINGTON
400 AM EDT WED MAY 29 2002

TDY THRU THU...

BERMUDA HIGH PRES RDG AND WARM HUMID AMS WL CONT OVR MID ATLC RGN
TDY. SE FLOW WL PROVIDE LIFT IN UPSLOPE AREAS AND WL PRODUCE ANOTHER
ROUND OF TSRA/S OVR WRN FA THIS AFTN AND EVE.

THERE WL BE POTENTIAL FOR SOME TSRA/S TO PRODUCE FLASH FLDG OVR WRN
AREAS AS THETA-E RDG WL BE OVR THIS AREA AND PCP H20/S WL BE OVR AN
INCH. ALSO...STORMS WL BE MOVG SLOWLY DUE TO WK FLOW ALOFT. SINCE
AREA FM SHEN VLLY WWD RECVD HVY RAFL YEST...WL PLACE THIS AREA UNDER
FFA FOR THIS AFTN AND EVE. EXPECT STORMS TO DISSIPATE W/LOSS OF AFTN
HTG TNGT.

WL MENTION FOG THIS AM AND AGN LATE TNGT.

THU LUKS SIM TO TDY. HOWEVER...CSTL LOW MOVG NWD MAY STRENGTHEN RDGG
OVR MID ATLC WHICH WUD LESSEN CHC FOR TSRA/S. WL CONT W/PC FCST FOR
NOW AND HV HIDDEN 20 POP.

MAV/FWC TEMPS WERE SIMILAR AND SEEMED RSNBL. WL HV MAX TEMPS 80-85
AND MINS NR 60. MAXES WL NOT BE AS HIGH IN SE ZONES DUE TO FLOW OFF
WATER. WRN AREAS WL ALSO BE A LITTLE COOLER DUE TO PCPN.

ARTHUR

THU NIGHT THRU TUE...MODLS SEEM TO HAVE CONSENSUS ON HAVNG ATLNTC
SFC OVER EASTERN CAROLINA THU NIGHT... BUT THERE HAS BEEN CONSENSUS
BEFORE ON THIS LOW. IN ANY CASE... DON/T THINK IT WILL BE MORE THAN
A BIT PLAYER IN OUR WEATHER THU NIGHT AND FRI. MAIN FEATURE WILL BE
A COLD FRONT MOVNG THRU ON FRI. THIS FRONT WILL EITHER TAP OR BE
ROBBED OF MOISTURE BY THE ATLNTC LOW.

WILL KEEP MUCH OF THE EXTNDED FORECAST AS IS WITH CHC POPS FRI AND
FRI NIGHT...THEN CLRNG FOR THE WEEKEND. 850MB TMPS DROP A FEW DEGS
ON SAT TO AROUND 12C FROM 16C... SO NOT VERY COOL BUT BREEZY AND
DRIER.

SUN STARTS OFF NICE THEN A WARM FRONT APPCHS FROM THE WEST SUN
NIGHT. USNG THE 00Z AVN IT APPRS THAT WE WILL ONLY CATCH THE
SOUTHERN EDGE OF THE AREA OF OVERRUNNG. LOW PASSES TO OUR N DURING
MON AND TRAILING COLD FRONT HANGS UP OVER THE MIDATLNC ON TUE.

STRONG

.LWX...
DC...NONE.
MD...FLOOD WATCH FOR WEDNESDAY FOR ZONES MDZ002>003.

VA...FLOOD WATCH FOR WEDNESDAY FOR ZONES VAZ021...VAZ025>031.

WV...FLOOD WATCH FOR WEDNESDAY FOR ZONES WVZ048>055.

The radar

The Sterling radar (KLWX), 127 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 10:58 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, Allegany

When: May 29, 6:00 AM EST to 8:00 AM EST
Where: Allegany County, Corriganville
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 39.622, -78.699 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Roads and basements were flooded.

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

Every storm in Maryland in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Maryland, May 2002

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: 5297994.