WASHINGTON — The National Weather Service has extended a flood warning for parts of Prince George’s County, Maryland, until 12:30 p.m. Monday. The rain has caused flooding and closures of several roads in the area, especially in Charles County.
Residents in east-central Prince George’s County should continue to monitor conditions in their area. Early Monday morning, the National Weather Service said flooding was happening in parts of Upper Marlboro, including at the Water Street bridge and Race Track Road.
Floodwaters are expected to recede through the morning hours, according to the weather service. But John Schofield, a spokesperson for the Maryland State Highway Administration, said there is not much they can do to speed up the process for clearing water from roads.
“I don’t have that yet. You sort of have to wait for nature to right itself,” Schofield said.
Visit the WTOP Weather Center for the latest forecast.
Heavy rains fell throughout the D.C. area over the weekend. On Sunday, flood warnings were issued for parts of Charles, Anne Arundel and Prince George’s counties in Maryland, and Stafford and Spotsylvania counties in Virginia.
The roads
Several roads in Maryland are closed Monday morning because of flooding, including Md. Route 450, Water Street, Md. Route 224 and Md. Route 227.
Charles County Public Schools will open on time but buses will not be able to drive on these roads:
- Pomfret Road
- Turkey Hill Road
- Livingston Road between Hawthorne and Pomfret roads
- Billingsley Road from Livingston to Dutton’s Bridge
Questions about the road closures can be directed to Charles County Public Schools transportation office at 301-934-7262.
While no major highways are impacted, some closures are causing delays on other roads. The closure on Water Street between Md. Route 4 and Judges Drive is causing delays from U.S. Route 301 as drivers try to access Marlboro Pike.
Officials are warning drivers to turn around if a road appears to be flooded, even if the water may seem shallow.
“We’re mostly making sure people don’t try to hero through it,” Schofield said.
While cloudy, gray days may not be appealing to some residents, the rain brought much needed precipitation to the area, which has seen a precipitation deficit of about 5 to 8 inches, according to WTOP’s Dave Dildine. Some areas saw up to 4 inches of total rainfall.
How much did it rain the past 24 hours? This graphic gives an estimate of 24-hour rainfall, and you can see that if you were southeast of Baltimore & Washington, you received a lot more rainfall than if you were northwest of the major cities. pic.twitter.com/spAsP4yxkg
— NWS DC/Baltimore (@NWS_BaltWash) February 12, 2018
However much the area may have needed this rain, there is potential for road damage from flooding.
“It’s similar to what happens when you have potholes. Roads are not meant to be underwater,” Schofield said.
WTOP’s Neal Augenstein contributed to this report.
