MD Weather: 34K Without Power; Flood Risk For Baltimore, 5 Counties

Updated at 11:30 p.m. Tuesday

MARYLAND — Heavy rain, a flash flooding threat and wind gusts up to 70 miles per hour pounded much of Maryland on Tuesday, leaving more than 34,000 utility customers without power.

The site PowerOutage.US said that 34,892 Maryland customers were offline as of 11:30 p.m. Tuesday. Anne Arundel County had the most outages, with almost 9,000.

A flood warning went into effect late Tuesday afternoon until 5 a.m. Wednesday for parts of central and northern Maryland, the National Weather Service said. The city of Baltimore, plus Anne Arundel, Howard, Prince George's, Montgomery and Baltimore counties are covered by the flood warning.

The warning means flooding of rivers, creeks, streams, and other low-lying and flood-prone ares is imminent or occurring, the NWS said. Between 2 and 3 inches of rain had fallen late Tuesday night with minor rainfall still possible in the warned area.

Communities likely to see flooding include: Baltimore, Columbia, Bowie, Severn, Pikesville, College Park, Crofton, Middle River, Greenbelt, Langley Park, Beltsville, Elkridge, Riviera Beach, Bladensburg, Ellicott City, Baltimore-Washington Airport, the University of Maryland and Glen Burnie.

A flood warning was in effect until 11:30 p.m. Tuesday for portions of the District of Columbia and Montgomery County, plus parts of Northern Virginia, the NWS said.

The National Weather Service issued a coastal flood warning, which will be in effect 4 p.m. on Tuesday to 10 p.m. on Wednesday in Maryland, Virginia and the District. Low-lying areas may see up to a half-a-foot of flooding. Coastal areas may see one to two feet of water accumulating due to tidal flooding.

Rain is expected throughout the day and into the evening across Maryland, with possible accumulations of three-quarters to 1 inch of rain, according to the National Weather Service. The agency has issued a flood watch from 1 p.m. Tuesday through Wednesday morning. Rainfall totals of between 1.5 to 3 inches are expected, with localized amounts up to 4 inches possible.

An east wind of 11 to 16 mph will increase to 21 to 26 mph in the afternoon. A high wind warning will be in effect from 3 p.m. Tuesday to 1 a.m. Wednesday for parts of Baltimore, Anne Arundel and Harford counties. The NWS said southeast winds of 25 to 35 mph with gusts up to 60 mph are expected.

• Related: MD Declares State Of Preparedness Amid Possible Heavy Rains, Flooding

Temperatures on Tuesday were expected to remain well above freezing, with a high of 58 and a low of 43, according to NWS.

Rain is expected to taper off on Wednesday, which will be mostly sunny with a high temperature of 50 degrees, according to the NWS forecast. High winds will continue throughout the day, with gusts of up to 40 mph possible.

"Numerous roads may be closed. Low-lying property including homes, businesses, and some critical infrastructure may be inundated. Some shoreline erosion may occur." the weather service said.

The flood watch is in effect due to the storm gathers a great deal of moisture from the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic and then drops it over the mid-Atlantic, according to AccuWeather.

"A general 1-3 inches of rain alone that falls on the saturated ground from prior storms back through December is enough to lead to rapid flooding in poor drainage areas and along small streams," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Dan Pydynowski said.

The following school systems in Maryland will be closing early on Tuesday due to the inclement weather:

• Anne Arundel County Public Schools: All schools will be closing two hours early on Tuesday. Afternoon half-day ECI classes and afternoon sessions at the Centers of Applied Technology North or Source have been canceled, as have Evening High School classes. All school-sponsored afternoon activities, including the Board of Education budget hearing and all-county band tryouts are canceled.
• Baltimore City Public Schools: All after school activities are canceled on Tuesday. In addition, the regular meeting of the Board of School Commissioners will be virtual via Microsoft Teams.
• Baltimore County Public Schools: All schools and offices will dismiss three hours early. All afterschool and evening activities are also cancelled and there will be no afternoon Pre-K. The school board business meeting scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 9, will move to a virtual format and can be viewed online.
• Calvert County Public Schools: All schools will close two hours early on Tuesday. All after school and evening actives are also canceled.
• Charles County Public Schools: All schools will dismiss students two hours early on Tuesday. All CCPS after school and evening activities have also been canceled.
• Harford County Public Schools: All HCPS schools and offices will be closing three hours early on Tuesday. There will be no preschool, early intervention or early learner regional programs operating Tuesday. There won't be any after school activities or after school daycare either on Tuesday. Second shift custodians are not to report to school Tuesday.
• Howard County Public Schools: All schools are operating under "Code Yellow" and will be dismissing students three hours early on Tuesday. Schedules for pre-K/RECC emergency early dismissals are available online. All aftercare programs, sponsored by the Columbia Association and the Howard County. Department of Recreation & Parks, are canceled on Tuesday. All evening activities involving county students and staff have been canceled, as well as alll community-sponsored programs in HCPS buildings.
• Montgomery County Public Schools: All schools will close 2.5 hours early on Tuesday, including full-day kindergarten and full-day Pre-K. Administrative offices will remain open. 10-month staff will be released after all students, 11- and 12-month staff remain to complete their scheduled workday. School and community activities for the afternoon and evening are also canceled. Students in AM Head Start, AM PEP, and AM Pre-K will be dismissed at their regular time, 10:50 am. PM Head Start, PM PEP, and PM Pre-K classes are canceled. Schools will operate with their early release bell schedules, including lunch. Field trips are canceled.
• Prince George's County Public Schools: All schools will be dismissing students two hours early on Tuesday. All after school and evening activities have been canceled.

Here is the seven-day forecast for the Baltimore-Washington, D.C. area from the National Weather Service:

Tuesday: Rain. High near 58. Windy, with an east wind 11 to 16 mph increasing to 21 to 26 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 39 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New precipitation amounts between three quarters and one inch possible.

Tuesday Night: Rain, mainly before 1am. Low around 43. Windy, with a southeast wind 23 to 28 mph becoming southwest 15 to 20 mph after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 46 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New precipitation amounts between a half and three quarters of an inch possible.

Wednesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 50. Breezy, with a west wind 16 to 21 mph, with gusts as high as 40 mph.

Wednesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 31. West wind 9 to 14 mph becoming light southwest after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 20 mph.

Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 52. Southwest wind 5 to 11 mph, with gusts as high as 18 mph.

Thursday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 32.

Friday: Rain after 1pm. High near 55. Chance of precipitation is 80%.

Friday Night: Rain, mainly before 1am. Low around 43. Windy. Chance of precipitation is 100%.

Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 51. Windy.

Saturday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 27. Windy.

Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 40.

Sunday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 27.

M.L.King Day: A chance of snow. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 41. Chance of precipitation is 30%.