Across the Delmarva Peninsula, winds hurled 3 feet of water onto downtown streets in Crisfield on the bay in Somerset County. Just offshore, Smith Island villages also flooded. Schools in Worcester County closed at 1 p.m.
Prince George's firefighters roused residents of Camp Springs from their beds early yesterday after a 10-foot-deep sinkhole appeared in their backyards along Yorkville Road south of Andrews Air Force Base. Patios and carports were tilted and cracked, and tall trees toppled, their roots in the air.
Most of Maryland's troubles occurred in Anne Arundel, Prince George's, Charles and Calvert counties, but flooding also closed roads for a time in Frederick, Carroll and Harford counties, as well as on the Eastern Shore.
With storm flows threatening to overwhelm a wastewater treatment plant, Anne Arundel officials asked residents south of U.S. 50 to curtail nonessential water use last night.
During the morning, 20 Anne Arundel firefighters were called to help rescue a man who drove a full-size pickup truck into high water along Dicus Mill Road in Gambrills. "His life was in danger," said Battalion Chief Matthew Tobia. The truck, he said, "is gone."
In Maryland City, firefighters from Anne Arundel and Prince George's counties teamed up to rescue another motorist who had driven into high water at Whiskey Bottom and Brock Bridge roads.
Storm winds gusted to 39 mph at BWI Marshall Airport, felling many trees as the roots slipped in the saturated soil. Anne Arundel firefighters were called after a fallen tree damaged a home and started a small fire in the 1700 block of Robinhood Road, in Epping Farms north of Annapolis.
Many toppling trees took power lines down with them, cutting electricity service to tens of thousands. By midafternoon yesterday, Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. crews had restored power to 80,000 customers, but 15,000 were still waiting.
Power outages in Baltimore forced Bay Brook and Curtis Bay elementary schools and Benjamin Franklin Middle School to close for the day. In Baltimore County, an outage closed Timonium Elementary.
Charles County schools were closed all day and Worcester County shut its schools at 1 p.m. Prince George's County authorities closed their administration building for the day.
The heavy rain was produced by a strong low-pressure system from the west. Counterclockwise circulation around the low drew warm, moist air in from the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean and brought it into collision with unusually cold air from Canada.
