Thunderstorms with very heavy rainfall moved through North Central Maryland during the evening of the 3rd. Several creeks and streams flooded and a number of roads were inundated by water after 2 to 4 inches of rain fell in just a few hours.
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.
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 moved through North Central Maryland during the evening of the 3rd. Several creeks and streams flooded and a number of roads were inundated by water after 2 to 4 inches of rain fell in just a few hours. In Washington County, six roads were closed by flooding in the Hagerstown and Leitersburg areas. They included Battletown Road, Cress Pond Road, Broadfording Road, Misty Meadow Road, and Lehmans Mill Road. One person had to be rescued after their car was caught in floodwaters on Battletown Road. Flooded basements were also reported in a few communities. Conococheague Creek rose above its bankful stage of 8 feet at Fairview around 8:30 PM on the 3rd. It crested at 14.1 feet at 11:45 AM on the 4th and fell below bankful stage at 5 AM on the 6th. The river spilled over onto Wishard Road and nearby low lying areas around Fairview. In Frederick County, at least eight roads were closed by flooding in the northern portion of the county.
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 3, 1:30 PM EST, 6 hours 15 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE MD/WASHINGTON DC 230 PM EDT TUE JUN 3 2003 SHORT TERM (TNGT/WED)... GOING FCST LOOKS IN GOOD SHAPE AS RA HAS OVRSPRD THE CWA. WL GO W/ CAT POPS EVERYWHERE TNGT AND THEN CHC POPS ON WED AS LOW MOVES N OF THE AREA. PCPN BCMG MORE SHOWERY ON WED...PSBLY ENDING BY LATE AFTN BUT WL LV WORDING OPEN ENDED FOR NOW. WL LV FLOOD WTCH AS IS IN THE WRN COUNTIES THROUGH WED MRNG. OVRNGT LOWS NOT TERRIBLY DIFFERENT FM THE TEMPS WERE EXPERIENCING ATTM. FEEL THERE MAY BE SOME BREAKS IN THE CLDS BY LATE AFTN ON WED WHICH WL ALLOW TEMPS TO CLIMB BACK INTO THE LM70S. WOODY LONG TERM (WEDNESDAY NIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY)... MODELS IN REASONABLE AGREEMENT TODAY. GFS MODEL OF CHOICE AND STUCK CLOSE. AN UPPER LOW MOVES FROM THE GREAT LAKES EASTWARD INTO NORTHERN NEW ENGLAND BY THURSDAY NIGHT. IT WILL KEEP MOISTURE IN THE AREA THROUGH ABOUT DAWN ON THURSDAY AND HAVE 30 POPS UNTIL THEN. AT THE SURFACE...AN AREA OF LOW PRESSURE WILL TRACK FROM NEAR KSDF ACROSS THE AREA OVER THE NEXT COUPLE DAYS. CONDITIONS WILL SLOWLY DRY OUT DURING THE DAY ON THURSDAY...AS A SUFACE HIGH BUILDS INTO THE MID-ATLANTIC. THE HIGH WILL DOMINATE THE AREA ON FRIDAY WITH BRIGHT SUNNY SKIES. NEXT SYSTEM ENTERS THE PICTURE ON SATURDAY WITH AN UPPER LOW FOLLOWING A SIMILAR TRACK AS THE FIRST SYSTEM. THE SURFACE LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL TRACK A BIT FURTHER TO THE NORTH ACROSS PA. A WARM FRONT WILL BUST THROUGH LATE FRIDAY NIGHT AND COLD FRONT WILL MOVE THROUGH SATURDAY AFTERNOON. SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL MOVE INTO THE AREA. A VERY WEAK AREA OF HIGH PRESSURE WILL BUILD IN FOR SUNDAY. I KEEP THINGS DRY. A DEEP UPPER LOW WILL MOVE JUST TO THE NORTH OF THE AREA ON MONDAY. IT WILL BRING MORE MOISTURE BACK INTO THE AREA FOR EARLY NEXT WEEK. TUESDAY WILL DRY OUT. TEMPERATURES LOOK GOOD AND ARE CLOSE TO THE MAV/MEX NUMBERS. I ONLY MADE A FEW TWEEKS. KELLS .LWX... DC...NONE. MD...FLOOD WATCH FOR TODAY AND TONIGHT FOR ZONES MDZ002>003. VA...FLOOD WATCH FOR TODAY AND TONIGHT FOR ZONE VAZ021. WV...FLOOD WATCH FOR TODAY AND TONIGHT FOR ZONES WVZ048>051... WVZ054>055.
DCZ001-MDZ002>007-009>011-013-014-016>018-VAZ021-025>031-036>042- 050>057-WVZ048>055-032345- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE MD/WASHINGTON DC 1140 AM EDT TUE JUN 3 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...TODAY THERE IS A POSSIBILITY OF FLOODING IN WESTERN MARYLAND...HIGHLAND COUNTY VIRGINIA...AND PENDLETON NORTHWARD TO MORGAN COUNTY IN WEST VIRGINIA. A FLOOD WATCH HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 flash flood, 2 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Many roads were flooded and a water rescue was required.
Many 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: 5370486, 5370488, 5370489, 5370487.