On this date in 2011, 1.39 inches of rain fell in D.C. after 4.58 inches had fallen the previous three days. The torrents caused serious flooding in the region.
“Flooding and rain continued to wreak havoc on commutes across the Washington region Friday morning, even as Thursday’s torrential downpours — which killed three people, trapped scores of terrified motorists, forced hundreds to evacuate and shut major highways — began to taper off,” The Washington Post wrote on Sept. 9.
High water closed schools, courthouses and government buildings, The Post reported. In Reston, Virginia, cars were flooded at a park-and-ride lot as 6.57 inches of rain fell in six hours. Fort Belvoir, Virginia, received 7.03 inches of rain in just three hours, considered a 1,000-year rainfall.
The National Weather Service reported rainfall rates of 2 to 3 inches per hour and issued 34 flash flood warnings.
The deluge from Lee occurred amid an exceptionally wet August and September in the area. Numerous locations received 18 to 24 inches of rain in just 30 days between mid-August and mid-September.
Here are other notables from this date:
- Average high: 83
- Average low: 67
- Record high: 100 (1939)
- Record low: 52 (1986)
- Record rainfall: 2.93 inches (1969)
