Flash Flood — Montgomery, Maryland

2006-06-25 to 2006-06-26 · near Countywide, Montgomery, Maryland

Event narrative

Numerous county roads closed in the southeastern part of the county near the Washington DC line. There were 147 reports of flooded basements. Twenty five swift water rescues occurred. In Chevy Chase, firefighters used boats to rescue 30 people trapped inside a recreational center. The Chevy Chase Village area off Wisconsin Ave had knee-deep water. There were 45 individual rescues Meadowbrook Park. Water reached the window of a stalled car on a bridge over great Seneca Creek in upper Montgomery County. A road was washed out at US 29 at New Hampshire Avenue in Silver Spring. Three swift water rescues occurred in Rock Creek Park. About 26 vehicles were recovered after water reached their windows. A driveway collapsed on Colesville Road in Silver Spring. Boats were used to rescue 30 men at a field house in Candy Cane City Park. Colesville received 12.5 inches during the event. Significant damage was reported in Northwest Branch Park when the river topped its banks by approximately 100 yards.

Wider weather episode

A weak cold front settled over the forecast area from June 23 until June 27. Waves of low pressure rode northeast along the front. Flow in the atmosphere was parallel to the boundary, producing several rounds of training echoes. As a result, double digit rainfall totals affected parts of the region through the five days. Scattered areas of flash flooding began on June 23 and continued into June 24. Then, flooding began to take on a more serious nature since the ground had become saturated in so many spots. A slow-moving line of thunderstorms fired along a tropical moisture plume and dumped between 4 and 7 inches across the Baltimore Metro, causing extensive urban flooding on June 25 and June 26. Major disruption of transportation was experienced June 26 due to the flooding. MARC Commuter rail experienced disruptions, flooding in underground tunnels forced much of the Washington Metro rail to close, and numerous roads were closed due to high water or mudslides. Nearly 2000 people in Montgomery County were evacuated when engineers on site determined that the Lake Needwood Dam may fail due to substantially above normal water levels on June 28. Fortunately, this did not occur. Unfortunately however, 5 people lost their lives due to flooding. Three adults died when they were washed out of the bed of a pickup truck east of Myersville in Frederick County Maryland. They evacuated their car when it stalled in high water near Ellerton on Route 17 along the Middle Creek around 8:30 PM. The driver of the pickup truck gave the three a ride shortly before the three people went missing. It is unsure whether they were swept out or tried to swim. Additionally, two teenagers died after exploring Little Pipe Creek in New Midway, MD, along the Frederick-Carroll County line. They were last seen at 6:30 PM when they left home to explore Little Pipe Creek in Carroll County. One bicycle and some clothing belonging to the boys were found at the bank of the creek near Route 194. Authorities believe the boys went swimming and were washed away. The currents June 28 were so strong that one of the rescue boats capsized and injured a man.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5515181. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.