Flash floods after downpour in Detroit, Baltimore

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For Maryland’s two largest cities on the Chesapeake, flooding that once occurred just a day or two in any given year is increasingly common — more so than anywhere else in the country, according to a recent federal study.

The rainfall total at BWI, the point of record for Baltimore, smashed a record of 4.91 inches for Tuesday’s date, and it ranked as the second-rainiest single day in Baltimore, after Aug. 23, 1933, when 7.62 inches fell.

Elsewhere, near-record rainfall has caused massive flooding in the Detroit area that is blamed for at least one death and has made roads impassable, swamped vehicles and flooded basements, officials said.

The heaviest rain since 1925 engulfed the area on Monday, the second-wettest day on record, according to the National Weather Service.