Heavy rains roared into the D.C. region, leaving behind slippery roads and flooding — including in Montgomery County, Maryland, where one driver was swept away by floodwater and rescued clinging to a tree.
In the Maryland suburb, emergency crews performed two water rescues, including one on Beach Drive, according to Montgomery County Fire and Rescue spokesperson Pete Piringer. The second took place around 4:30 a.m. on Brighton Dam Road in the Brookeville area. Piringer said there were several vehicles in the water.
“One person had left their vehicle and was swept downstream a bit and they were clinging to a tree. We were able to deploy some boats and rescue that person. They were not injured,” Piringer said.
All sections of Beach Drive reopened at around 10:30 a.m., the Maryland-National Capital Park Police said on X.
Piringer said there were also a number of collisions countywide throughout Sunday evening into Monday morning.
Meanwhile, in downtown Annapolis, several roadways were closed due to flooding, according to the Annapolis Police Department. The weather also caused the Bay Bridge to enter limited restrictions, barring house trailers and empty box trailers from passing by.
It wasn’t just Maryland — the rain soaked most of the D.C. area, with BWI Marshall Airport logging more than 2 inches and Reagan National and Dulles International airports both nearly getting 2 inches. The previous Dec. 17 rainfall record at Reagan was 0.75 inches set in 2000, according to WTOP meteorologist Mike Stinneford.
This month could begin to rank in the top 20 wettest Decembers on record for the D.C. area, “and we still have almost another two weeks to go,” WTOP meteorologist Chad Merrill said.
“Ironically, the top three wettest Decembers on record were also in El Nino winters: December of 2009, 1969 and 1973,” Merrill said.
The nasty weather caused disruptions Monday at the D.C. area’s three major airports.
As of noon Monday, Reagan National Airport had 84 delays and 34 cancellations; BWI Marshall Airport had 79 delays and 33 flights canceled; and Dulles International Airport had three cancellations and 109 delays.
A wet, windy Nor’easter causing downed trees
A wind advisory was lifted at 2 p.m. Monday, but it was expected to remain gusty for the rest of the day into Tuesday. Tuesday will bring peak gusts expected to be at least 30 mph. Even though temperatures will be in the low 40s, it will feel a lot colder due to the wind chills.
There are currently limited wind restrictions at the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, which will limit any two-way travel patterns for the afternoon rush hour, the Maryland Transportation Authority said.
WTOP Traffic reported there were downed trees throughout the region, including one in Northwest D.C., where a tree fell onto a school bus with kids onboard. No major injuries were reported.
In Fairfax County, Virginia, a tree fell on Interstate 95 in Dale City and another tree fell onto U.S. 50/Arlington Boulevard near Inova Fairfax Hospital.
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Current weather:
Forecast:
Brian van de Graaff, WTOP Meteorologist
MONDAY: WIND ALERT (8 A.M. UNTIL 2 P.M.): Lingering early morning rain chance, increasing winds and very strong gusts. Highs in the low 50s.
MONDAY NIGHT: Partly cloudy. Lows in the low to mid-30s.
TUESDAY: COLD ALERT: Partly sunny, breezy and cold. Highs in the low 40s.
WEDNESDAY: Mostly sunny. Highs in the mid- to upper 40s.
THURSDAY: Mostly sunny. Highs around 50 degrees.
WTOP’s Ivy Lyons contributed to this report.
