Jan. 9-10: Highs Winds and Flooding on Delmarva

Damaging winds and coastal flooding occurred throughout Delmarva on the evening of January 9th and into the morning hours of the 10th. But the cause of the heavy weather was not the typical coastal storm, or “nor’easter”, that can bring chaos to the east coast in the winter. Instead, it was the interaction between a strong area of low pressure well inland and a large area of high pressure over the Atlantic.

The competing systems brought a high wind field into the mid-Atlantic region, with reported wind gusts of 50-70mph, while also funneling in deep moisture in the form of torrential rain. And at times, the high winds and heavy rain persisted in similar fashion to a tropical storm.

Several inches of rain fell across the peninsula, while the high winds brought coastal flooding to both the Atlantic and Chesapeake Bay sides of Delmarva. Areas along the western and southwestern bay side experienced the most flooding. Crisfield to Bishops Head and north along the Dorchester shoreline had the most inundation of water during the height of the storm, and also with high tide that occurred after the strongest winds had moved off shore.