Thunderstorms with very heavy rainfall, frequent lightning, and damaging winds moved through central Maryland during the afternoon and evening of the 12th. Several locations reported downed trees and power lines in addition to flooding.
Every event with a place to put it; 11 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
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.
The episode as NWS LWX wrote it up.
Thunderstorms with very heavy rainfall, frequent lightning, and damaging winds moved through central Maryland during the afternoon and evening of the 12th. Several locations reported downed trees and power lines in addition to flooding. In Frederick County, trees and wires were downed in Urbana and Green Valley. Up to 40 trees were downed in New Market, including some which had to be cleared from roads. A tree fell onto a house on Lewisdale Road in Hyattstown. A home in New Midway and in New Market were struck by lightning. In Carroll County, a county road was inundated with water. A stream that runs through Wakefield Valley Golf Course in Westminster overflowed onto low lying areas. In Baltimore County, a stream overflowed its banks and a road and several basements were flooded in Towson. An observer in Towson recorded 2.52 inches of rain and two inches of this total fell in 45 minutes. Five roads were flooded in Parkville. In Baltimore, six roads were flooded. In addition, pea sized hail fell in Towson and Baltimore. An observer in Kingsville recorded 1.8 inches of rain in 2 hours. In Harford County, 2.06 inches of rain was recorded in Fallston. A handful of basements were flooded. Hail of unknown size also fell. In Montgomery County, trees were downed onto Sleepy Hollow Lane in Rockville. Trees were also downed onto Shannondale Drive and Pretoria Drive in Silver Spring and in the communities of Brookeville and Laytonsville. A wind gust of 60 MPH was reported in Germantown. Route 355 in Gaithersburg was closed by high water. A low water bridge on Hyattstown Road near Prescott Road was underwater. Little Seneca Creek overflowed its banks, reaching a stage of 8.1 feet at Dawsonville around 9 PM. Flood stage at this location is 8 feet. Goshen Branch near Damascus also flooded. A handful of motorists were caught in rising water and had to be rescued by emergency personnel. Rescuers also rescued a dog that was caught on a rock in the raging Potomac River near Old Angler's Inn. In addition, a few homes were struck by lightning. A 30 vehicle pileup on Interstate 270 near Montrose Road was also blamed on the storm. In Anne Arundel County, trees and power lines were downed in Riviera Beach, Annapolis, Arnold and Cape St. Claire. Some roads were blocked and four homes were slightly damaged by the fallen trees. Large trees and power lines were also downed along College Parkway and Alemeda Parkway. A wind gust of 43 MPH was recorded in Shadyside and a gust of 41 MPH was recorded in Annapolis. Lightning struck five houses an a few trees across the county. In Prince George's County, a wind gust of 83 MPH was recorded at Andrews Air Force Base. A gust of 49 MPH was recorded in Bladensburg and a gust of 42 MPH was recorded in Landover. Trees were downed onto the Baltimore-Washington Parkway near the intersection of Route 410 in Greenbelt. The intersection of Route 450 and Greenvale Parkway was flooded in Landover Hills. In Mt. Rainer, Queens Chapel Road and other low lying areas were flooded. Fire fighters had to rescue several drivers from their cars countywide. Countywide, several homes and a commercial structure were struck by lightning and two serious fires were reported. In Charles County, many trees were downed south of La Plata. A wind gust of 41 MPH was recorded in Waldorf. In St. Mary's County, trees were downed in Thompson's Corner, Compton, Chaptico, Country Lakes, and Mechanicsville. A home in Compton was damaged by a felled tree.
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 Jun 12, 1:00 PM EST, 3 hours 20 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE MD/WASHINGTON DC
200 PM EDT THU JUN 12 2003
.SHORT TERM...TNGT AND TMRW...
MAIN PROBLEMS IN THE SHORT TERM TODAY ARE FFLDG AND SVR. AREA RAOBS
SHOWING PWATS HIGHER THAN YDY. GPS IPWV DATA AROUND THE AREA ALSO
SHOWING A SIGNIFICANT INCRS OVR THE PAST 24-36H. STORMS YDY WERE
ALSO VRY EFFICIENT PRODUCING 1-3 IN/HR RAFL RATES WITH SOME FLDG.
ALL IN ALL...FLOOD THREAT CONTS TO INCRS...AND WL CONT FLASH FLOOD
WATCH.
AS FOR SVR...WATCH BOX IN THE S ALREADY. JUST ABOUT ANYWHERE IS
PRIMED FOR SVR TODAY. BEST ORGANIZATION LIKELY IN THE N WITH STGST
SHEAR...WHILE OVR THE S...BEST AEREAL CVRG XPCTD. DEEP LYR SHEAR
STILL SUFFICIENT FOR ORGANIZED CONVECTION AND SVR. AGAIN TODAY WITH
SHORT LINEAR HODOGRAPHS LINEAR MODE FAVORED WITH SVR MAINLY ASSOC
WITH LEWPS/BOWING SEGMENTS. WET MICROBURSTS IN PCPN LOADED STORMS WL
ALSO BE A PROB TODAY. SHEAR PARMS MUCH STRONGER IN THE RUC
SNDGS...BUT THIS IS NOT SUPPORTED AS WELL BY THE OBSERVATIONAL DATA.
POPS CONT OVNGT AND CHC POPS AGAIN TMRW WITH ANOTHER REPEAT
PERFORMANCE. 50 POPS BOTH PDS.
MANNING
.LONG TERM FRI NGT THROUGH THU...
ETA STILL SHOWING THE CWA MOIST AND UNSTABLE SAT AND FNT WILL BE
SINKING S OVR THE AREA. ANOTHER GOOD SHOT AT AT LEAST SCT CONVECTION.
WILL USE 40 POPS AREAWIDE FOR THE AFTN AND EVENING.
BOTH MODELS NOW IN CONSENSUS IN FCSTG FNT S OF US...AND CWA IN DRY
ZONE. WILL HAPPILY PULL POPS FOR SUNDAY. SHOULD BE COOLER AND A LTL
LESS HUMID TOO. GFS KEEPS DRY AIR IN PLACE THRU MID WEEK. EXTENDED
SHOWS NEXT FNT IN ON DAY 7...THURSDAY.
RDH
.LWX...
DC...FLASH FLOOD WATCH THROUGH THIS EVE DCZ001.
MD...FLASH FLOOD WATCH THROUGH THIS EVE MDZ002>007...MDZ009>011...
MDZ013...MDZ014.
VA...FLASH FLOOD WATCH THROUGH THIS EVE VAZ021...VAZ025>031...
VAZ036>042...VAZ050>056.
SVR TSTM WATCH #527 TIL 23Z VAZ021...VAZ025>026...
VAZ036>039...VAZ050...VAZ055>057.
WV...FLASH FLOOD WATCH THROUGH THIS EVE WVZ048>055.
MARINE...NONE.
SVR TSTM WATCH ALL ZONES TIL 00Z.DCZ001-MDZ002>007-009>011-013-014-016>018-VAZ021-025>031-036>042- 050>057-WVZ048>055-141000- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE MD/WASHINGTON DC 1135 AM EDT THU JUN 12 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR MARYLAND WEST OF THE CHESAPEAKE BAY AND EAST OF GARRETT COUNTY...THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA...NORTHERN VIRGINIA...THE NORTHERN AND CENTRAL SHENANDOAH VALLEY...AND THE EASTERN PANHANDLE OF WEST VIRGINIA. .DAY ONE...THROUGH TONIGHT THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED THIS AFTERNOON INTO THIS EVENING. A FEW STORMS COULD PRODUCE DAMAGING WIND GUSTS AND FLASH FLOOD PRODUCING RAINFALL. A FLASH FLOOD WATCH IS IN EFFECT THROUGH THIS EVENING FOR MOST OF THE AREA. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL LIKELY BE NEEDED THIS AFTERNOON. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... ISOLATED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE AGAIN FRIDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING. ADDITIONAL SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED INTO THE WEEKEND. RDH
DCZ001-MDZ002>007-009>011-013-014-016>018-VAZ021-025>031-036>042- 050>057-WVZ048>055-130000- SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE MD/WASHINGTON DC 1135 AM EDT THU JUN 12 2003 ...SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS TODAY... THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER IN NORMAN OKLAHOMA HAS INDICATED THAT THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE WEATHER ACROSS CENTRAL AND NORTHERN VIRGINIA...EASTERN WEST VIRGINIA...MARYLAND...AND THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA THIS AFTERNOON AND THIS EVENING. THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP EARLY THIS AFTERNOON AHEAD OF A STALLING COLD FRONT OVER PENNSYLVANIA. AN UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE WILL APPROACH THE AREA BY LATE AFTERNOON. THIS WILL PROVIDE A FOCUS FOR MORE ORGANIZED THUNDERSTORMS DURING THE LATE AFTERNOON AND EVENING HOURS. GUSTY WINDS ARE THE PRIMARY SEVERE WEATHER THREAT TODAY...SOME LARGE HAIL IS ALSO POSSIBLE. IN ADDITION...THESE STORMS WILL HAVE THE ABILITY TO PRODUCE TORRENTIAL RAINFALL RATES OF 1 TO 2 INCHES PER HOUR WHICH MAY CAUSE FLASH FLOODING IN SOME AREAS. A FLASH FLOOD WATCH IS IN EFFECT THROUGH THIS EVENING FOR MUCH OF THE AREA. THE THREAT OF SEVERE WEATHER IS EXPECTED TO DIMINISH BY LATE EVENING. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO AND OTHER LOCAL MEDIA FOR FURTHER DETAILS OR UPDATES. MANNING
VAZ037-038-121815- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE MD/WASHINGTON DC 117 PM EDT THU JUN 12 2003 ...THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING RAPIDLY OVER THE BLUE RIDGE... AT 117 PM EDT...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A STRONG THUNDERSTORM 5 MILES NORTHWEST OF WHITE HALL...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 40 MPH. THIS STORM WILL BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING SMALL HAIL AND WIND GUSTS TO 50 MPH. THE COMMUNITIES OF CROZET...STANARDSVILLE AND FREE UNION WILL BE AFFECTED BY THIS STORM THROUGH 215 PM EDT. RESIDENTS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD REMAIN ALERT IN CASE WARNINGS ARE ISSUED. MANNING
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE MD/WASHINGTON DC
346 PM EDT THU JUN 12 2003
TIME(EDT) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0345 PM CHARLES TOWN WV WIND DAMAGE
06/12/03 JEFFERSON TREES DOWN REPORTED BY
LAW ENFORCEMENT.PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE MD/WASHINGTON DC
456 PM EDT THU JUN 12 2003
TIME(EDT) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0352 PM WARRENTON VA WIND DAMAGE
06/12/03 FAUQUIER LARGE LIMBS DOWN IN
WARRENTON
0415 PM GREENWICH VA WIND DAMAGE
06/12/03 PRINCE WILLIAM TREES DOWNED LAW
ENFORCEMENT REPORT.The Sterling radar (KLWX), 104 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 21:18 UTC.
8 thunderstorm wind, 6 flash flood, 3 lightning, 2 heavy rain. Local standard time, as filed.
Trees were downed, including one which fell onto a house.
Trees were downed onto Sleepy Hollow Lane.
Trees and wires were downed.
Many trees were downed south of town.
Several homes and a commercial structure were struck by lightning and two serious fires resulted.
Trees were downed onto Shannondale Drive and Pretoria Drive.
Six roads were flooded.
Roads were flooded and several water rescues were conducted.
A wind gust of 83 MPH was recorded. The time was estimated.
Five homes were struck by lightning.
A stream overflowed its banks and roads and basements were flooded.
Trees were downed onto the Baltimore-Washington Parkway near the intersection of Route 410.
Trees and power lines were downed.
A county road was flooded.
Two homes were struck by lightning.
A stream overflowed its banks in Westminster.
Several roads were flooded.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Maryland in 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings in Maryland, June 2003
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: 5373740, 5373741, 5374026, 5374027, 5374030, 5374028, 5369581, 5369585, 5374029, 5374032, 5374034, 5374035, 5374031, 5374033, 5369582, 5369583, 5369584, 5369586, 5370054.