The Hydrology, Hydrometeorology and Hydaulics of Flood Response in the Baltimore Metropolitan Region
 
J. A. Smith, A. J. Miller, K. L. Meierdiercks, M. L. Baeck, P. A. Nelson, E. Holland, J. O. Diehl, M. Ballantine
 
We examine the hydrology, hydraulics and hydrometeorology of flood response in the Baltimore metropolitan region, with special focus on the Dead Run watershed in Baltimore County and the Moores Run watershed in Baltimore City. Analyses for the 5.5 square mile Dead Run watershed utilize rain gage observations from a network of 19 rain gages, in addition to WSR-88D radar rainfall estimates. Stream gaging observations from 6 stations, in addition to the USGS Franklintown gage, are also used for analyses of flood response in the Dead Run watershed. Additional stream gaging observations in the Dead Run watershed include sites that are used to characterize the effects of detention basins and systems of detention basins on flood response. The 3.5 square mile Moores Run watershed exhibits an anomalously large frequency of extreme unit discharge flood peaks, even for urban drainage basins. During the 7-year stream gaging record, there have been 5 flood peaks with unit discharge exceeding 1000 cfs per square mile. The maximum unit discharge in Dead Run for the same period was less than 500 cfs per square mile.
 
Keywords: floods, urban hydrology, radar