The heavy rainstorms of mid-March resulted in more than three-inches of rain across much of Maryland, and if wet weather continues, it may affect the health of the Chesapeake Bay. The Maryland Department of Natural Resources says the heavy rain and snowmelt may result in less underwater grasses, an increase in algae blooms and early onset of dead zones in the Bay. Tom Parham, the director of DNR’s Tidewater Ecosystem Assessment says the surge of water carrying excessive nutrients, sediments and other pollutants continued downstream to rivers, and then to the Chesapeake Bay. Full storm impacts may not be known until at least mid-summer.