Photos: Drenching storms spark street flooding, travel delays in Baltimore during Friday evening commute

Widespread flooding was reported throughout Baltimore on Friday evening as thunderstorms drenched the city with inches of rain.

The deluge caused streets to flood across the city, bringing traffic to a standstill in some areas during the Friday evening commute.

Roads became impassable in the hardest-hit areas due to high water, stranding cars attempting to drive through the water. Some ramps on and off of I-83 and I-95 were also impassible for a time.

Hundreds of flights were either delayed or canceled at the Baltimore Washington International Airport due to the storms, while Amtrak trains were forced to halt due to the severe weather.

The first storms that moved through the city brought hail larger than quarters, followed by additional rounds of drenching storms.

“These storms were slow moving and produced very heavy rainfall rates of 1-2 inches per hour,” AccuWeather Meteorologist Alyson Hoegg said.

“With the already-saturated ground from all of the recent rain, flooding occurred very quickly,” Hoegg added.

The National Weather Service (NWS) issued a flash flood warning, calling the flooding a ‘particularly dangerous situation' that could cause life-threatening flooding.

There have been no reports of injuries or fatalities due to the flooding.

Streams and rivers across the area, which were already running above normal due to recent rain, quickly rose during the drenching storms. This included Maidens Choice Run near Westgate which spiked 13 feet in just 26 minutes.

Heavy thunderstorms also lead to flooding elsewhere in the Northeast, including in New York City.

Drier conditions are in the forecast throughout the weekend before showers and thunderstorms return to the Baltimore area to close out July.

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