Name: Flash Flood in Maryland, September 1, 2002
Start: 2002-09-01T16:30
End: 2002-09-01T17:30
Location: Maryland

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.

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: 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 PHI wrote it up.

Bands of persistent heavy rain caused poor drainage flooding in the Maryland Eastern Shore as well as flooding of creeks and roadways in Queen Anne's County. The most road closures were reported in Grasonville. Storm totals included 5.60 inches in Easton (Talbot County), 4.75 inches in Church Hill (Queen Anne's County), 3.97 inches in Royal Oak (Talbot County), 3.80 inches in Federalsburg (Caroline County), 2.91 inches in Stevensville (Queen Anne's County), 2.76 inches in Chestertown (Kent County) and 2.30 inches in Worton (Kent County). Wind gusts to around 30 mph and the heavy rain pushed over some shallow trees and broke some tree branches during the morning of the 1st.

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 Philadelphia/Mount Holly wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Sep 1, 2:40 PM EST, 1 hour 50 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 1, 2:40 PM EST, 1 hour 50 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOUNT HOLLY NJ
340 PM EDT SUN SEP 1 2002

HVY RAIN AREA IN THE S FINALLY SEEMS TO BE FALLING APART...AND FLOOD
WATCH WL BE ALLOWED TO EXPIRE AFT 4PM. BUT KEEPING WRNG UP FOR
SUSSEX CTY DE FOR AT LEAST A FEW MORE HRS.

PROGS ARE FINALLY COMING TOGETHER...NOW THAT THE EVENT IS ENDG.
GOING WITH CATEGORICAL POPS ALL BUT SRN ZONES TNGT...BUT EVEN
THEN...XPC RAIN TO TAPER OFF FM THE S ARND OR AFT MIDN. KEEPING
MINIMAL CHC IN THE ERY MRNG MON ALL BUT THE FAR S...THEN DRY TIL
CDFNT APCHS FM THE W WED.

GUIDANCE TEMPS ARE CLOSE ON THE VARIOUS MODELS...AND WONT VARY MUCH.

WERE NEAR HIGH TIDE AT THE CST ATTM...AND COULD SEE MINOR TIDAL
FLODDING FOR ANOTHER HOUR OR TWO...WHICH IS WHAT LATEST STATEMENT
ALLUDED TO. LIKEWISE...HVY SURF SHOULD SBSD THIS EVE AS WNDS BGN TO
DMSH.

ZONES SHOULD GO ARND 4 PM.

.PHI...MINOR TIDAL FLOODING FOR NXT FEW HOURS CST.
       HVY SURF ADVY INTO THIS EVE CST.
       SML CRAFT ADVY SCT AND DE BAY.

KRAUS

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, Queen Anne'S

When: September 1, 4:30 PM EST to 5:30 PM EST
Where: Queen Anne'S County, Grasonville
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 39.038, -76.085 (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

More

Every storm in Maryland in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Maryland, September 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: 5321067.