Maryland, 2004

Heavy Rain in Maryland, April 12 to 13, 2004

April 12 to 13, 2004 · NWS PHI · 5 events in 5 counties and zones

A slow moving low pressure at both the surface and aloft produced periods of rain across the Eastern Shore from the morning of the 12th into the evening of the 13th. The heaviest bursts of rain fell during the afternoons of the 12th and 13th.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 5 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
5

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.

A slow moving low pressure at both the surface and aloft produced periods of rain across the Eastern Shore from the morning of the 12th into the evening of the 13th. The heaviest bursts of rain fell during the afternoons of the 12th and 13th. Two day storm totals averaged around two inches and caused poor drainage flooding and ponding of water in fields. Specific storm totals included 2.79 inches in Easton (Talbot County), 2.50 inches in Federalsburg (Caroline County) and 1.85 inches in Stevensville (Queen Anne's County). The low pressure system responsible for the heavy rain moved from Mississippi the morning of the 12th slowly northeast into Alabama during the evening of the 12th, extreme eastern Tennessee on the morning of the 13th, near Philadelphia early in the evening of the 13th and reached the Berkshires of Massachusetts just after midnight EDT on the 14th. The slow movement permitted this low pressure system to gather moisture from both the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean and dropped it onto the Middle Atlantic States.

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 Apr 12, 9:00 AM EST, 4 hours earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 12, 9:00 AM EST, 4 hours before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Apr 12, 3:42 AM EST, 9 hours 18 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOUNT HOLLY NJ
442 AM EDT MON APR 12 2004

DEZ001>004-MDZ008-012-015-019-020-NJZ001-007>010-012>027-PAZ054-055-
060>062-067>071-121100-
ATLANTIC NJ-ATLANTIC COASTAL CAPE MAY NJ-BERKS PA-BUCKS PA-CAMDEN NJ-
CAPE MAY NJ-CARBON PA-CAROLINE MD-CECIL MD-CHESTER PA-
COASTAL ATLANTIC NJ-COASTAL OCEAN NJ-CUMBERLAND NJ-DELAWARE PA-
DELAWARE BEACHES DE-EASTERN MONMOUTH NJ-GLOUCESTER NJ-HUNTERDON NJ-
INLAND SUSSEX DE-KENT MD-KENT DE-LEHIGH PA-MERCER NJ-MIDDLESEX NJ-
MONROE PA-MONTGOMERY PA-MORRIS NJ-NEW CASTLE DE-NORTHAMPTON PA-
NORTHWESTERN BURLINGTON NJ-OCEAN NJ-PHILADELPHIA PA-QUEEN ANNES MD-
SALEM NJ-SOMERSET NJ-SOUTHEASTERN BURLINGTON NJ-SUSSEX NJ-TALBOT MD-
WARREN NJ-WESTERN MONMOUTH NJ-
442 AM EDT MON APR 12 2004

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EAST CENTRAL AND
SOUTHEAST PENNSYLVANIA...DELAWARE...THE NORTHERN MARYLAND
EASTERN SHORE...AND NEW JERSEY EXCLUDING THE FIVE NORTHEAST
COUNTIES.

.DAY ONE...TODAY

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...

ON TUESDAY...THE CONTINUED RAINFALL WHICH SHOULD BE HEAVY AT
TIMES...COULD ALLOW FLOODING TO DEVELOP ON SMALLER STREAMS AND IN
HIGHLY URBANIZED AREAS. ADDITIONALLY...THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE
DEVELOPING AND SOME OF THE THUNDERSTORMS COULD HAVE STRONG GUSTY
WINDS AND HAIL.

ON WEDNESDAY...THUNDERSTORMS COULD DEVELOP IN THE AFTERNOON.

.SPOTTER CALL TO ACTION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED TODAY BUT SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS
POSSIBLE ON TUESDAY.

STAUBER

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

5 heavy rain. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Rain, Caroline

When
April 12, 1:00 PM EST to April 13, 5:00 PM EST
Where
Caroline County, Countywide
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
38.872, -75.832 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Rain, Cecil

When
April 12, 1:00 PM EST to April 13, 5:00 PM EST
Where
Cecil County, Countywide
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
39.562, -75.948 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Rain, Kent

When
April 12, 1:00 PM EST to April 13, 5:00 PM EST
Where
Kent County, Countywide
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
39.236, -76.096 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Rain, Queen Anne'S

When
April 12, 1:00 PM EST to April 13, 5:00 PM EST
Where
Queen Anne'S County, Countywide
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
39.038, -76.085 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Rain, Talbot

When
April 12, 1:00 PM EST to April 13, 5:00 PM EST
Where
Talbot County, Countywide
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
38.749, -76.179 (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

More

Every storm in Maryland in 2004Every state in 2004This day in weather historyWarnings in Maryland, April 2004

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: 5393030, 5393031, 5393032, 5393033, 5393034.