Weather conditions, such as rain, wind, temperature and prolonged periods of extreme weather, can have wide-ranging effects on the Bay's habitats, water quality and fish and shellfish populations.
Each day, billions of gallons of fresh water flow through thousands of streams and rivers that eventually empty into the Bay. That fresh water also carries polluted runoff from the Bay's 64,000-square-mile watershed.
Drops of rain that fall on the land do not always wash into the Bay or one of its tributaries right away. Instead, precipitation can seep through the soil and into groundwater: water that is stored underground.