Major flooding is ongoing near Baltimore this afternoon after areas south of town have seen more than seven inches of rain in a short period of time, and amounts could approach ten inches before the storms stop. A similar situation unfolded in Detroit last night.

Of the two metro areas that flooded, the most dire situation is in parts of eastern Maryland between Washington and Baltimore. BWI Airport reported just under six inches of rain at 3PM.

Doppler radar estimates confirm the airport's reading, showing that more than six inches of rain has fallen over a large area south of Baltimore. Given the nature of the training thunderstorms, it wouldn't be much of a surprise if totals approached ten inches in a few spots.

The pictures coming from Baltimore are something else.

The heavy rain even flooded out the long-term lots at Baltimore Washington International (BWI) Airport.

Areas in the Detroit metro area saw a similar situation last night, with "unprecedented" flooding occurring across the area. According to the Capital Weather Gang, the four-and-a-half inches of rain reported at city's airport makes yesterday the second wettest day ever recorded in Detroit.

Twitter was flooded (pun unintended) with pictures of drivers boneheadedly trying to traverse the flooded roadways.

Never drive through a flooded roadway. It's very hard if not impossible to judge how deep the water is, and it takes surprisingly little water to disable a car and make it buoyant. Anyone who chooses to drive through a flooded roadway not only risks their lives, but the lives of the rescuers who have to hike out there and save the idiots who thought they could make it.

The weather should clear out by tomorrow and allow the flooded areas to dry up. Tomorrow's flash flood threat shifts to Maine in the east, and Colorado/Utah in the west.

[Radar images via Gibson Ridge]