Maryland Nuisance Flooding

Help us capture Nuisance Flooding events and impacts throughout Maryland

Maryland Department of Natural Resource’s, Chesapeake & Coastal Service is leading an initiative to document the effect and impact of extreme high tides and precipitation on our state’s coastline; waterways, private property and public infrastructure.

What is Nuisance Flooding?

There are two types of nuisance flooding that we experience in Maryland. The first is commonly known as high tide or sunny day flooding and is coastal flooding that occurs at high tide and interrupts day to day activities leading to a public inconvenience such as road closures, and overwhelmed storm drains. A combination of sea level rise and land subsidence is leading to more frequent tidal nuisance flood events in our coastal communities. Higher than normal tides typically occur during a new or full moon and when the moon in at perigee or during specific seasons. We are most likely to experience nuisance flooding during the winter and spring. In 2018 Cambridge, Baltimore and Annapolis tied or broke the record for days recorded of high tide flooding. NOAA issues a seasonal high tide bulletin to report regionally when higher than normal high tides can be expected that you can check out for additional information. Local conditions such as precipitation, wind direction, and other short-term meteorological events may lead to nuisance flood events.

The second type can occur from increased precipitation that leads to sudden large quantities of water that can overwhelm storm water systems, flood roadways, disrupt public transportation and cause rivers and streams to top their banks.

We NEED Your Help. Please help us capture and document nuisance flood events from either high tide or precipitation and its impacts throughout the state of Maryland.

Recent Reports