Deluge swamps much of Washington area Saturday morning
More than three inches measured officially in D.C. in two hours
By chance, as much as for any other reasons, some of the heaviest downpours pelted Reagan National Airport, where the National Weather Service makes its official readings for Washington.
The figures there fell into what a reasonable observer might describe as the reasonably astounding range.
In the hour between about 1 a.m. and 2 a.m., the gauges at the airport collected 1.51 inches of rain. That is a heavy rainfall. But the storm, which had screeched us awake, was not done with us.
In the next hour, between about 2 a.m. and 3 a.m., even more rain fell. At 1.53 inches, it brought the total for the two drenching hours to 3.04 inches.
That two-hour total represents the amount of rain that would seem reasonable for many a full month. Often that much rain does not fall in an entire month.
It seemed that we had experienced a spectacular meteorological event, a kind of prodigy of precipitation.
With Bastille Day not far off, it was the kind of thing that may have caused the historically-minded to recall the saying attributed to Louis XV, the pre-revolutionary French king.
“Apres moi,” he said, “le deluge.”
But even with the alert blaring from our televisions, many of us may have been deprived of the sight.
For one thing, it fell in darkness, from a sky full of clouds. For another, it appears that the two-hour, three-inch total confined itself to only parts of the metropolitan area. Even Sections of the District did not report so much rain to the Weather Service.
On the other hand, some places in the Washington region got even more.
In the Loveville area of St. Mary’s County in Southern Maryland, a spotter reported to the Weather Service a total rainfall of 4.58 inches.
The report was made about 9 a.m. and covered the previous 24 hours. But data indicated that most or all of that rain fell in a relatively brief period.
Needless to say, high water, as deep as a foot or a foot-and-a-half, was reported flowing over streets and roads in St. Mary’s, as streams came out of their banks.
Closer to Washington, high water was reported on roads in Montgomery County as well.
In Montgomery, Beach Drive was closed between Wyndale Road and Woodbine Road.
It was also closed between Kensington Parkway and Connecticut Avenue, according to county fire and rescue spokesman Pete Piringer.
High water was blamed, Piringer said.
In addition, authorities received accounts of fallen trees that blocked streets and roads.
It appeared that many had come down less as a result of wind than as a consequence of rain softening or eroding the surrounding soil.
In Montgomery, more than two inches of rain was measured in areas that included Garrett Park, Silver Spring, Potomac and Chevy Chase, according to reports made by Saturday morning to the Weather Service.
In Virginia, 2.5 inches or more was measured in places that included the Mount Vernon and Chantilly areas of Fairfax County.
But as an indicator of the lack of uniformity of the storm’s liquid output, many parts of the region saw an inch or less, based on information gathered by the Weather Service.
Spots that did not seem to participate to the fullest in the morning’s frenzy of precipitation reportedly included Bowie, Brentwood and Bladensburg.
In many sections of the Washington area, the almost biblical quantities of rain might have caused many residents to look through reference works to consult instructions for constructing an ark.
But at the same time, even over the 68.3-square-mile area of the District, totals varied considerably, and might have caused some residents to wonder why that alarm sounded early Saturday.
For example, although a substantial 2.48 inches fell in Adams Morgan, the total measured by morning at Catholic University was more than half an inch less, at 1.90 inches. At the National Arboretum the figure was 1.04 inches.
Meanwhile, in many places, rain continued through the day on Saturday, if in less than deluge quantities.
As of 5 p.m., the day’s official rainfall figure for Washington stood at 4.05 inches, boosting July’s total to 4.74, or 3.42 above average for the month thus far.
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