Flooding

Flooding from Sunday night's storm has closed several lanes on Interstate 83, stalling the southbound morning commute at Northern Parkway to the downtown exits. Only one lane remains open after standing water from heavy rains forced the closures about 9 p.m. The ramp from I-83 southbound onto West Northern Parkway remains closed. Transportation officials say no other Baltimore roadways are closed due to flooding at this time. But utility work has also closed down lanes on Lombard Street near Light Street, transportation officials said.

County officials are urging residents to purchase insurance policies if their homes have recently been added to newly redrawn flood insurance rate maps. The Federal Emergency Management Agency worked with Maryland's Department of the Environment to overhaul the statewide maps, which show which homes and businesses are most susceptible to flooding, and thus are generally required to buy flood insurance . In Howard County, the maps have not changed since 1986. Because of better technology, an additional 360 residences and 130 other structures near rivers and streams will be identified as being at risk of flooding, unless their owners appeal.

WASHINGTON - Officials at Reagan National Airport have evacuated part of a gate area and closed off one terminal's baggage area after a problem with a pipe caused flooding. A spokeswoman for the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, Tara Hamilton, said Saturday that flooding was ankle deep in the terminal C baggage claim area. That baggage claim was closed as were about a dozen gates in terminal C, Hamilton said. The airport has three terminals. Hamilton said it was unclear how many flights were affected, but they were primarily US Airways flights.

The coastal flood advisory that has been in effect for parts of the Chesapeake Bay the last two mornings is a result of the full moon and sustained winds, according to the National Weather Service. Tides a foot higher than normal are expected, and have already been seen in lower parts of the bay. The U.S. Naval Academy's first high tide was at 7:47 a.m., Fort McHenry's was at 9 a.m. and Havre de Grace's around noon. High tides are expected again at 7:51 p.m. in Annapolis, 9:26 p.m. at Fort McHenry, 10:18 p.m. at Bowley's Quarters and 12:46 a.m. at Havre de Grace.

More than 10,500 customers lost electricity and roads were closed due to high water Sunday evening as two thunderstorms swept through the region. Baltimore City police reported shortly after 9 p.m. that parts of I-83 were flooded. The ramp from I-83 southbound onto West Northern Parkway was flooded. Northern Parkway to Coldspring Lane was closed. In Baltimore County, scattered outages left intersections dark. Police precinct 3, the Franklin precinct, may have been struck by lightning that caused a power outage, police said.

More than 10,500 customers lost electricity and roads were closed due to high water Sunday evening as two thunderstorms swept through the region. Baltimore City police reported shortly after 9 p.m. that parts of I-83 were flooded. The ramp from I-83 southbound onto West Northern Parkway was flooded. Northern Parkway to Coldspring Lane was closed. In Baltimore County, scattered outages left intersections dark. Police precinct 3, the Franklin precinct, may have been struck by lightning that caused a power outage, police said.

Fears of widespread coastal flooding from a combination of high tides and the snowstorm's high winds did not materialize, though Ocean City officials are expected to examine the town's beaches today. Concerns about flooding along the state's coastline were raised Saturday, as officials worried that high winds from the east would push the already high tide ashore, leading to floods and significant erosion. In Ocean City, where beach and dune replenishment has been taking place, engineers are expected to check the shoreline for erosion.

Free at last from February's record snows, Marylanders face what could be record rainfall and potential flooding this weekend. Flood watches were posted statewide as a slow-moving coastal storm gathered strength Friday and prepared to drive heavy Atlantic moisture onshore overnight and through most of today. Forecasters expected the heaviest rains overnight and today, with at least 2 inches to 4 inches falling before ending Monday. Some locations could see 5 inches or more - more than a month's rain in one weekend.

The National Park Service says some boat ramps and campgrounds along the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal remain closed by debris from Potomac River flooding early in the week. Rangers said Friday that nine boat ramps from Spring Gap in Allegany County to Edward's Ferry in Montgomery County are closed. The Antietam Creek and McCoy's Ferry campgrounds are also closed, along with the Billy Goat Trail near Great Falls. Park visitors should expect rough conditions along much of the towpath. - Associated Press

After three days of rain that left 3 inches of water in her basement and a flood in her yard, Ramona Wojick decided that Anne Arundel County officials should declare her property a flood zone."

One to two inches of rain is possible Sunday and precipitation will continue into Monday, according to the National Weather Service. On Saturday night, a cold front that's associated with an upper level low pressure system is expected to come into the Baltimore metro area and bring precipitation from the Great Lakes region, said Calvin Meadows, a meteorological technician at the NWS Sterling office. When a surface level low pressure system that is moving up the Atlantic coast from the Carolinas reaches the Baltimore area Sunday afternoon, it will trigger widespread and heavy precipitation, he said.

On behalf of FEMA's National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), I'm writing in response to your March 14 opinion piece, "Warming: Storm damage ahead" to add insight about flood risk and the NFIP. Your editorial addresses how climate change will add to the likelihood of flooding, especially in coastal areas. Floods are our nation's most common and costly natural disaster and occur in all areas of the country. Everyone should understand that we all are at some risk for flooding and that the time to protect ourselves is now. In fact, due to the wide spread risk of flooding, many insurance companies stopped selling flood insurance as far back as the 1960s.

Talitha Simeona-Stewart flicked her pen across a student's paper as she stood in the line of people in dark suits. She didn't look it, but the eighth-grade English teacher from Millersville was nervous because she had never even tried out for a play, much less a TV series starring Kevin Spacey. She was just a Shakespeare lover hoping to show her students the value of reaching for new experiences. A few feet away, Dude Walker (yes, that's his professional name) cracked jokes about the actor's life.

New research indicates that rising sea level from climate change will roughly double the risks of storm-related flooding in coastal communities in Maryland and nationwide. Scientists with Climate Central , an independent nonprofit journalism and research organization, have produced maps showing how even small increases in sea level rise are likely to push storm surges onto shore. They've also published their findings in peer-reviewed journals. In Maryland, past and future global warming nearly doubles the estimated odds of “century” or worse floods occurring within the next 18 years, they say  - meaning floods so high they would historically be expected just once per century.  Elsewhere along the nation's coastline, the risks triple.

The unusually mild weather has already brought flood warnings to central Maryland in recent weeks, but today marks the start of Flood Safety Awareness Week across the country. March typically sees about 4 inches of rain in Greater Baltimore, with 11 inches for the spring season. Floods and tornadoes are the top extreme weather concerns here this time of year.  The National Weather Service is promoting its "Turn Around, Don't Drown" campaign to prevent pedestrians and motorists from being swept away in floodwaters that can be deceptively fast-moving.

Emergency operations officials in Harford County said persistent calls received about gas odors from numerous locations in the county early Friday morning appear to be related to fumes from an oil refinery in New Jersey. No sources of gas were found in the county, but local fire companies were busy throughout Friday morning and into the early afternoon responding to calls of gas odors or suspected gas leaks. Harford Emergency Operations spokesman Rick Ayers said early Friday morning the county was informed by state emergency operations officials that fumes from an industrial facility in New Jersey had been detected in the air in Harford and Cecil counties and in New Castle County, Del. In a later statement, the county government said the fumes were from an oil refinery in Paulsboro, N.J., which is on the New Jersey shore of the Delaware River and across the river from Philadelphia International Airport.

WASHINGTON -- The eastern half of the country is so soggy that it will be susceptible to flooding this spring -- and much of the West is in the grips of a major drought, government forecasters said yesterday.Even the copious quantities of rain and snow that fell over the Far West in the past several weeks are no more than a "down payment on a massive moisture deficit" in the area, said Frank Richards, a hydrologist with the National Weather Service.Mr. Richards said that from New Jersey to Wisconsin and south to the Gulf Coast, lakes and rivers are full and the soil is wet, so there will be no place for water to go in the event of heavy rains.

A rusted pipe burst Monday afternoon in the William S. James Senate Office Building in Annapolis, flooding some rooms on two floors and prompting the Department of General Services to shut the building. Thirty-five of the state's 47 senators have offices in the building, and staff members were moving equipment out of offices on the third and fourth floors Monday afternoon. The pipe burst on the west side of the fourth floor, where many Republican members have their offices. Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller said last night that offices on the first and second floors will reopen Tuesday, while the third and fourth floors could remain closed a few more days.

An old pipe burst in the William S. James Senate office building Monday afternoon, flooding a slew of offices and prompting the Department of General Services to temporarily shutter the building. Thirty-five of the state's 47 senators have offices in the building, and staff members were moving equipment out of offices on the fourth floor Monday afternoon. The pipe failed on the west side of the fourth floor, where many GOP members have their offices. Sam Cook, a director at the Department of General Services, said the building will reopen Tuesday morning.