Professor tracks Richmond's worst flood spots 'storm after storm'

July 22, 2026, WTVR CBS 6 News

RICHMOND, Va. — Heavy storms rolled through the Richmond metro area Tuesday and overnight into Wednesday morning, leaving standing water at flood-prone intersections across the city. At the corner of 36th Street and Midlothian Turnpike, city crews arrived by 2 p.m. Wednesday and cleared the standing water within minutes.

The apparent cause was a hubcap blocking the drain — a small but telling example of the kind of infrastructure issues that University of Richmond Professor Todd Lookingbill and the non-profit Southside ReLeaf have spent the past year working to document.

CBS 6 Meteorologist Mike Stone said rainfall totals from the past 24 hours showed significant variation across the region. Some areas recorded more than three inches of rain, with isolated spots in Virginia receiving more than six inches. Far southern areas saw comparatively little rainfall.