A moist, tropical airmass led to the development of thunderstorms. Some heavy rainfall caused a few reports of road closures, plus a report of a water rescue incident.
Every event with a place to put it. 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.
A moist, tropical airmass led to the development of thunderstorms. Some heavy rainfall caused a few reports of road closures, plus a report of a water rescue incident.
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 Jul 15, 1:10 PM EST, 2 hours 10 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE MD/WASHINGTON DC 210 PM EDT FRI JUL 15 2005 .SHORT TERM... NO MAJOR CHANGES SYNOPTICALLY THRU TOMORROW. SFC AND UPPER TROF OUT TO OUR WEST IN THE MISS VALLEY... AND HIGH OUT IN THE ATLANTIC. RESULTING SOUTHERLY FLOW WILL KEEP CURRENT AIRMASS INTACT. 500MB HEIGHTS DO START TO RISE SLOWLY FROM 589 TO 591 DM. EXPECT ANOTHER ROUND OF MODERATE FOG OVERNIGHT WITH MCLOUDY CONDITIONS CONTINUING. RADAR PRECIP ALGORITHMS WERE RESET DURING THE MIDDAY SINCE THEY WERE CARRYING THREE DAYS OF RAIN DURING OUR CURRENT RAINY PERIOD. HURRICANE EMILY CONTINUES TO CROSS THE CARRIBEAN AND ANOTHER TROPICAL WAVE WAY OUT HAS THE POTENTIAL TO BECOME OUR F STORM SOON. && .AVIATION... NOT TOO MUCH IN THE WAY OF CHGS OVER THE NEXT 24 HRS. A PERIOD OF VFR CONDITIONS THIS AFTERNOON FROM TIME TO TIME...THIS WILL LIKELY SPARK MORE TSRA THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. THAT WILL BE REPLACED BY CIGS OF 020 TO 030 AGAIN. ALSO EXPECTING MVFR FOG TO ROLL BACK OVERNIGHT AS WELL. AREAS OF IFR VSBY AND CIGS DURING THE EARLY MORN POSSIBLE AT MRB AND CHO. && .MARINE... NO MARINE CONCERNS THROUGH DAY 5 OTHER THAN SCT TSRA AND REDUCED VSBY FROM HAZE. && .LONG TERM... THE BEGINNING OF THE LONG TERM IS NOT EXPECTED TO BE MUCH DIFFERENT THAN THE PAST FEW DAYS...EXCEPT THE COVERAGE OF THUNDERSTORMS SHOULD BE A LITTLE LESS THAN RECENT DAYS AND WILL BE MORE DIURNAL IN NATURE. THE AIR MASS WILL REMAIN VERY MOIST...WITH PRECIPITABLE WATERS ABOVE 2 INCHES IN A THETA-E RICH ENVIRONMENT...AND INSTABILITY WILL BUILD EACH AFTERNOON THROUGH TUESDAY AS CAPES RISE INTO THE 1500-2500 J/KG RANGE. IN ADDITION...WEAK VORT FEATURES RIDING OVER THE UPPER RIDGE ACROSS THE SOUTHEAST CONUS WILL HELP TO KICK OFF CONVECTION. THEREFORE...HAVE CHC POPS DURING DAYTIME THROUGH TUESDAY...WITH SLGT CHC POPS AT NIGHT. THE GFS AND ECMWF ARE FAIRLY SIMILAR IN DROPPING A COLD FRONT SOUTH INTO THE AREA TUESDAY NIGHT/WEDNESDAY...WITH LOWER PRECIPITABLE WATERS AND LOWER SURFACE DEWPOINTS TRYING TO WORK THEIR WAY SOUTH BEHIND THE FRONT FOR THURSDAY/FRIDAY. A LITTLE UNCERTAINTY REMAINS WITH THE COLD FRONTAL TIMING...AND HAVE CHC POPS IN TUESDAY NIGHT AND WEDNESDAY. GFS THEN SHOWS POST-FRONTAL HIGH PRESSURE SUPPORTING AFOREMENTIONED DECREASES IN PRECIPITABLE WATERS AND DEWPOINTS. GIVEN TIME OF YEAR AND LACK OF SUPER STRONG HIGH PRESSURE...NOT SURE FRONT TOTALLY IS PUSHED SOUTH OF OUR CWA. THEREFORE...HAVE KEPT SLGT CHC POPS FOR MOST PLACES WEDNESDAY NIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY WITH SOME DECREASE IN SURFACE DEWPOINTS AND TEMPERATURES IN GRIDDED DATABASE (MAXIMIZED ACROSS OUR NORTH AND WEST). && .LWX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... DC...NONE. MD...NONE. VA...NONE. WV...NONE. MARINE...NONE. && STRONG/PELOQUIN
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE MD/WASHINGTON DC 1115 AM EDT FRI JUL 15 2005 ANZ530>537-DCZ001-MDZ002>007-009>011-013-014-016>018-VAZ021- 025>031-036>042-050>057-WVZ048>055-161515- CHESAPEAKE BAY NORTH OF POOLES ISLAND MD- CHESAPEAKE BAY FROM POOLES ISLAND TO SANDY POINT MD- CHESAPEAKE BAY FROM SANDY POINT TO NORTH BEACH MD- CHESAPEAKE BAY FROM NORTH BEACH TO DRUM POINT MD- CHESAPEAKE BAY FROM DRUM POINT MD TO SMITH POINT VA- TIDAL POTOMAC FROM KEY BRIDGE TO INDIAN HEAD MD- TIDAL POTOMAC FROM INDIAN HEAD TO COBB ISLAND MD- TIDAL POTOMAC FROM COBB ISLAND MD TO SMITH POINT VA- DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA-ALLEGANY-WASHINGTON-FREDERICK MD-CARROLL- NORTHERN BALTIMORE-HARFORD-MONTGOMERY-HOWARD-SOUTHERN BALTIMORE- PRINCE GEORGES-ANNE ARUNDEL-CHARLES-ST. MARYS-CALVERT-HIGHLAND- AUGUSTA-ROCKINGHAM-SHENANDOAH-FREDERICK VA-PAGE-WARREN-CLARKE- NELSON-ALBEMARLE-GREENE-MADISON-RAPPAHANNOCK-FAUQUIER-LOUDOUN- ORANGE-CULPEPER-PRINCE WILLIAM/MANASSAS/MANASSAS PARK-FAIRFAX- ARLINGTON/FALLS CHURCH/ALEXANDRIA-STAFFORD-SPOTSYLVANIA- KING GEORGE-GRANT-MINERAL-HAMPSHIRE-MORGAN-BERKELEY-JEFFERSON- PENDLETON-HARDY- 1115 AM EDT FRI JUL 15 2005 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR MARYLAND WEST OF THE EASTERN SHORE INCLUDING THE CHESAPEAKE BAY AND EAST OF GARRETT COUNTY...EASTERN WEST VIRGINIA...NORTHERN AND CENTRAL VIRGINIA... WASHINGTON DC AND THE TIDAL POTOMAC RIVER. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE LIKELY THIS AFTERNOON...AS A FRONTAL BOUNDARY REMAINS STRETCHED ACROSS THE REGION. LOCALLY VERY HEAVY RAINFALL COULD CAUSE SOME FLOODING PROBLEMS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY THERE WILL BE CHANCES FOR STORMS EACH DAY IN THIS PERIOD. TORRENTIAL RAINFALL COULD OCCUR...WHICH MAY POSE A THREAT FOR LOCALIZED FLOODING. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED. STRONG
The Sterling radar (KLWX), 19 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 20:22 UTC.
1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Flash flooding was reported at Arnon Chapel and Walker Roads. Center Street in Vienna was flooded. Flooding was also reported at Lawyers Road and Gunnell Road.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Virginia in 2005Every state in 2005This day in weather historyWarnings in Virginia, July 2005
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: 5463786.