Annapolis sees moderate flooding after tropical storm Ophelia; more flooding may come

City Dock saw moderate flooding over the weekend due to tropical storm Ophelia, and National Weather Service forecasters say additional minor flooding may appear through Wednesday.

The storm was gentler than expected when it arrived in Maryland on Saturday, The Baltimore Sun reported. While there wasn’t a lot of reported damage, the region still had gusty winds, flooding, and about 2 to 3 inches of rainfall, Kevin Rodriguez, lead meteorologist for the National Weather Service, said.

Rodriguez said the forecast calls for cloudy skies into Tuesday with temperatures throughout the week in the upper 60s to low 70s. Easterly winds may push water up the Chesapeake Bay and cause minor flooding near City Dock through Wednesday.

Flooding throughout Anne Arundel

Joseph Corona, deputy director of the Anne Arundel Office of Emergency Management, said the storm caused some coastal flooding, fallen trees, and other storm damage in the Annapolis, Mayo Peninsula and Shady Side areas.

Flooding in Annapolis began late Saturday evening into early Sunday, with the city having to close Dock Street, the City Dock lot and Compromise Street. Andrew Snyder, an NWS meteorologist, said the area saw an average of 2.31 feet of storm surge.

Several businesses along Dock Street experienced flooding on Sunday, including Storm Bros. Ice Cream. Assistant Manager Alexandra Currence said the store began to flood Sunday morning, and there was about 6½ inches of water in the building.

Currence, 18, recently moved to the area and had never experienced Annapolis’ incessant flooding.

“I was shocked,” she said. “I was like ‘What’s going on?’ And I was like, ‘So are we gonna open up?’ And people were just walking through like it’s a normal day.”

Further down the block, Pip’s Dock Street Dogs, located on the lowest point of Dock Street, had to close on Sunday.

Pip’s owner, Ryan Lamy, said there isn’t much one can do to prepare. However, he said the $13.5 million mitigation project that added water pumping stations to alleviate flooding on the north side of the dock has helped reduce the amount of nuisance flooding.

“You mop, sweep and disinfect and get back to business,” he said.