Flash Flood Watch Issued For Baltimore County

BALTIMORE COUNTY, MD — With potentially heavy rain in the forecast Thursday, much of central Maryland is under a flash flood watch, including Baltimore County. Showers and thunderstorms are expected to start in the morning and continue through the early evening.

The flash flood watch is in effect until 8 p.m. Thursday. Forecasters say 1 to 3 inches of rain may fall in that time frame, with locally higher amounts possible.

Heavy rain could lead to the rapid rise of water levels at small creeks and streams and may put urban areas and those with poor drainage at risk for flash flooding, according to the National Weather Service.

A flash flood watch means conditions could result in flash flooding, which is a rapid rise in water level that may be life-threatening. If people come across flooded roads, they should turn around — don't drown.

Drivers should give themselves more time for braking and turn on their lights and windshield wipers, the Maryland Transportation Authority advised Thursday morning.

These areas are under the flash flood watch until 8 p.m.: Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Charles, Harford, Howard, Montgomery, Prince George's and St. Mary's counties and Baltimore City. Parts of Virginia and Washington, D.C., are also under the watch. Cecil County is under a flash flood watch until midnight.

"An isolated waterspout cannot be ruled out over the waters this morning," the National Weather Service said in a hazardous weather outlook for the Chesapeake Bay and tidal Potomac.

Here is the forecast for the Baltimore metro area, according to the National Weather Service: