48 hours of rain leaves streets, park underwater

The weekend rolled in with a bang late Friday night.

A massive thunderstorm hovered overhead producing a light show of frequent blue flashes, followed up by thundering booms that would rival the sounds that emanate from the munitions training ranges and Quantico.

It kept raining on Saturday, as tropical-like downpours caused flooding along Route 1 near Quantico in both Stafford and Prince William counties. The rain fell so hard and fast it was difficult to see to drive.

The rain persistent Sunday morning as the storm spun overhead, continuously dumping a deluge of water causing more flooding and road closures. By late Sunday afternoon, the Historic Port of Falmouth Park was underwater and its main access way, River Road, lived up to the name, also covered by water and closed to traffic.

The swollen Rappahannock River that runs alongside the park raged full of Debris floating fast downstream. A man who lives across from the park gathered his family to look at the encroaching waters.

“When I bought my house here in [1995], it came up to my door. In 2014, it was in the house. I’m expecting the same this time,” he said.

Half of Stafford County, the western portion, stayed under a flood warning Sunday while the rains fell. Rural portions of the county, Roseville, and Hartwood saw more than five inches of rain. Had that much rain fell as snow, residents would be digging from under nearly 50 feet.

At sunset Sunday, the rain finally let up. That was a good sign for better weather to come, according to forecasters at the National Weather Service who expect clouds to clear overnight, making way for drier air and sunny skies Monday with high temperatures near 80 degrees.

The flood threat will persist over the next few days, so the weather service urged boaters on the Potomac River to use caution.