Flash Flood — Arlington, Virginia

2006-06-25 to 2006-06-26 · near Arlington, Arlington, Virginia

Event narrative

More than 10 heavily traveled roads were closed, including I-395, Route 110, and Washington Blvd. I-395 was closed at the Glebe Rd exit due to high water. Several cars were submerged up to their hoods. The George Washington Memorial Parkway South at the Washington National Airport exit was closed.

Wider weather episode

A weak cold front settled over the Mid Atlantic between June 23 and June 27. Waves of low pressure rode northeast along the front. Flow in the atmosphere was parallel to the boundary, producing several rounds of persistent showers and thunderstorms. As a result, double digit rainfall totals affected parts of the region through the five day period. Scattered areas of flash flooding began on June 23 and continued into June 24. Then, flooding began to take on an even 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 of rain across Northern Virginia, causing extensive urban flooding on June 25 and June 26. Extensive power outages across the region occurred during this event. Major disruption of transportation was experienced June 26 due to the flooding. MARC Commuter rail experienced disruptions, Virginia Railway Express commuter rail did not operate, flooding in underground tunnels forced much of the Washington Metro rail to close, and numerous roadways were flooded and closed due to high water or mudslides. Numerous water rescues were needed for the people who were stranded in their cars. In one neighborhood in Huntington, Virginia, 158 homes were declared uninhabitable by building inspectors due to contamination and lack of utilities. Another two homes and one business were condemned.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5515895. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.