Flood — Washington, Maryland

2025-05-14 to 2025-05-15 · near Hancock, Washington, Maryland

Event narrative

The Potomac River at Hancock river gauge reached minor flood stage with peak crest of 26.30 feet. At 25 feet, water may begin to inundate low points of the CSX Railroad tracks on the West Virginia side of the river due to backwater. Additionally, access to Potomac Airpark may be restricted due to backwater. Water reaches the top of the Hancock boat ramp and begins to spill over into the adjacent parking lot.

Wider weather episode

A slow moving closed upper level low originating from the Gulf of America brought anomalous moisture into the area. A long duration period of rain ensued, with rain rates exceeding two inches an hour during the afternoon of May 13th. The slow moving storms coupled with training led to localized rainfall totals of four to eight inches across western Maryland, with lesser amounts of two to four inches across central Maryland. Most of this rain fell in a 6 hour period, resulting in flash flooding especially across western Maryland.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (39.7017, -78.1896)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1251049. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.