2 flash flood, as filed by the National Weather Service.
Every event with a place to put it; 2 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 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 Aug 1, 2:30 PM EST, 1 hour earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE MD/WASHINGTON DC 330 PM EDT SUN AUG 1 2004 .SHORT TERM (TONIGHT AND MONDAY)... FRONTAL BOUNDARY STILL HANGING BACK TO THE WEST AT THIS TIME...WITH THE TROPICAL SYSTEM SKIRTING ALONG THE EAST COAST. FROM THE LATEST VISIBILITY PICTURE...LOOKS LIKE A SHEAR ZONE HAS SET UP OVER THE CWFA BETWEEN THE TWO SYSTEMS. A LINE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS HAS FORMED ALONG THIS AXIS...AND HAS MOVED VERY SLOWLY SOUTHEAST DURING THE AFTERNOON HOURS. VERY HEAVY RAINFALL ACCOMPANIES THIS LINE...AND A FEW LIGHTNING STRIKES ALSO. FLOOD WATCH SITUATION...WILL KEEP THE CURRENT FLOOD WATCH INTACT UNTIL 6 PM. AFTERNOON CONVECTION HAS POPPED TO THE WEST OF THE WATCH AREA...AND IS MOVING EAST. STORMS WILL BE MOVING OVER AREAS THAT HAVE ALREADY RECEIVED A GOOD DEAL OF RAINFALL DURING THE DAY. WILL NOT BE EXPANDING FOR AREAS SOUTH OF THE CURRENT WATCH. FFG IS 3.5 INCHES AN HOUR IN SOUTHERN MARYLAND AND AROUND 2+ IN THE SOUTHERN QUARTER OF THE CWFA. THE FRONTAL BOUNDARY WILL CONTINUE TO SLOWLY APPROACH FROM THE WEST OVERNIGHT AND MONDAY. BOUNDARY LOOKS TO SLOW DOWN ON MONDAY OVER CENTRAL PORTIONS OF VIRGINIA...AND STALL. POPS WILL BE HIGHEST IN VICINITY OF THE SHEAR AXIS...WITH CHANCE/SLIGHT CHANCE OUT WEST. && .AVIATION...SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE INTO THE OVERNIGHT HOURS AROUND THE TAF SITES. ACTIVITY IS NOT DIURNAL IN NATURE...AND WILL LINGER WELL INTO THE NIGHTTIME. && .LONG TERM (SUNDAY NIGHT AND BEYOND)...AT THE BEGINNING OF THE PERIOD FRONTAL BOUNDARY REMAINS STALLED OVER CENTRAL PORTIONS OF THE CWFA. BY LATE SUNDAY NIGHT/EARLY MONDAY THE BOUNDARY SHOULD BECOME DIFFUSE AS THE TROPICAL LOW MOVES UP THE SOUTHEAST COAST. BY LATE TUESDAY/INTO WEDNESDAY...THE CWFA SHOULD BE IN THE SUBSIDENT AREA ON THE NORTHWEST SIDE OF THE TROPICAL SYSTEM. WILL HAVE VERY SMALL POPS IN THE EAST. BY EARLY WEDNESDAY...MOISTURE WILL BE INCREASING FROM THE SOUTHWEST IN ADVANCE OF THE FRONTAL BOUNDARY PROGGED TO COME THROUGH OVERNIGHT WEDNESDAY/EARLY THURSDAY. WILL HAVE THE HIGHEST POPS IN THE WEST AT THIS TIME. BY THURSDAY...FRONTAL BOUNDARY SHOULD BE OVER THE SOUTHERN PORTIONS OF THE CWFA. ON FRIDAY...HIGH PRESSURE WILL BEGIN TO SETTLE OVER THE MID ATLANTIC REGION...AND VERY LITTLE POPS/IF ANY FOR THE WEEKEND. && .LWX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... DC...FLD WTCH TIL 6 PM. MD...FLD WTCH TIL 6 PM MDZ004>007-009>011-013-014. VA...FLD WTCH TIL 6 PM VAZ053-054. WV...NONE. MARINE...NONE. && LISTEMAA
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE MD/WASHINGTON DC 1118 AM EDT SUN AUG 1 2004 DCZ001-MDZ002>007-009>011-013-014-016>018-VAZ021-025>031-036>042- 050>057-WVZ048>055-020800- ALBEMARLE VA-ALLEGANY MD-ANNE ARUNDEL MD- ARLINGTON/FALLS CHURCH/ALEXANDRIA VA-AUGUSTA VA-BERKELEY WV- CALVERT MD-CARROLL MD-CHARLES MD-CLARKE VA-CULPEPER VA- DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA DC-FAIRFAX VA-FAUQUIER VA-FREDERICK VA- FREDERICK MD-GRANT WV-GREENE VA-HAMPSHIRE WV-HARDY WV-HARFORD MD- HIGHLAND VA-HOWARD MD-JEFFERSON WV-KING GEORGE VA-LOUDOUN VA- MADISON VA-MINERAL WV-MONTGOMERY MD-MORGAN WV-NELSON VA- NORTHERN BALTIMORE MD-ORANGE VA-PAGE VA-PENDLETON WV- PRINCE GEORGES MD-PRINCE WILLIAM/MANASSAS/MANASSAS PARK VA- RAPPAHANNOCK VA-ROCKINGHAM VA-SHENANDOAH VA-SOUTHERN BALTIMORE MD- SPOTSYLVANIA VA-ST. MARYS MD-STAFFORD VA-WARREN VA-WASHINGTON MD- 1118 AM EDT SUN AUG 1 2004 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR MARYLAND WEST OF THE CHESAPEAKE BAY AND EAST OF GARRETT COUNTY...EASTERN WEST VIRGINIA...NORTHERN AND CENTRAL VIRGINIA AND WASHINGTON DC. .DAY ONE... ABUNDANT MOISTURE AND AN APPROACHING COLD FRONT WILL BRING SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TODAY. A FLOOD WATCH IS IN EFFECT THROUGH 6 PM ACROSS MARYLAND...THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA...AND NORTHERN VIRGINIA. SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING HEAVY RAINFALL OF ONE TO TWO INCHES PER HOUR WITHIN THE WATCH AREA...AND MAY RESULT IN FLOODING. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED...ALTHOUGH REPORTS OF HEAVY RAIN AND FLOODING ARE APPRECIATED. PELOQUIN
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE MD/WASHINGTON DC 100 PM EDT SUN AUG 1 2004 VAZ051-011800- CULPEPER VA- 100 PM EDT SUN AUG 1 2004 ...STRONG THUNDERSTORM MOVING INTO CULPEPER COUNTY... AT 100 PM EDT...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A STRONG THUNDERSTORM 5 MILES NORTHWEST OF WINSTON...MOVING EAST AT 10 MPH. THIS STORM WILL BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING VERY HEAVY RAINFALL AND WIND GUSTS TO 30 MPH. RAINFALL RATES OF 1 TO 2 INCHES OF HOUR CAN BE EXPECTED WITH THIS STORM AND MAY LEAD TO LOCALIZED FLOODING. THE COMMUNITIES OF WINSTON AND CULPEPER WILL BE AFFECTED BY THIS STORM THROUGH 200 PM EDT. PELOQUIN
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE MD/WASHINGTON DC 217 PM EDT SUN AUG 1 2004 DCZ001-MDZ009-013-VAZ053-054-011915- ARLINGTON/FALLS CHURCH/ALEXANDRIA VA-DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA DC-FAIRFAX VA-MONTGOMERY MD-PRINCE GEORGES MD- 217 PM EDT SUN AUG 1 2004 ...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS IN METRO WASHINGTON... AT 217 PM EDT...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A STRONG THUNDERSTORM OVER LINCOLNIA...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 15 MPH. THIS STORM WILL BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING TORRENTIAL DOWNPOURS AND LOCAL WIND GUSTS TO 40 MPH. LOOK FOR PONDING OF WATER ON ROADS...UNDER OVERPASSES... AND IN OTHER LOW LYING AREAS IN THE PATH OF THIS STORM. THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA...ADELPHI...ASPEN HILL...BELTSVILLE... BETHESDA...BLADENSBURG...CHEVERLY...CHEVY CHASE...COLESVILLE... COLLEGE PARK...FAIRLAND...GREENBELT...HILLANDALE...HYATTSVILLE... LANDOVER...LANGLEY PARK...NEW CARROLLTON...TAKOMA PARK...WHITE OAK...ALEXANDRIA...ANNANDALE...ARLINGTON...BAILEYS CROSSROADS... FALLS CHURCH...LAKE BARCROFT...LINCOLNIA...MCLEAN...MERRIFIELD... BALLSTON...AND ROSSLYN WILL BE AFFECTED BY THIS STORM THROUGH 315 PM. ADDITIONAL SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS FROM DUMFRIES TO CLINTON WILL DRIFT ACROSS THE SOUTHERN SUBURBS THROUGH 3:30 PM. HTS
The Sterling radar (KLWX), 30 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 20:29 UTC.
2 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Route 1 closed due to high water at a couple of spots.
Streets closed due to standing water.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Virginia in 2004Every state in 2004This day in weather historyWarnings in Virginia, August 2004
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: 5421565, 5421566.