Here’s how much rainfall Ida’s remnants brought to Centre County
Heavy rain hit the area from remnants of Hurricane Ida and it didn’t let up Wednesday, with a total rainfall of 3-5 inches by mid-afternoon, according to the National Weather Service at State College.
It was expected, as the NWS on Monday issued a flash flood watch for southern Centre County, which includes State College, for early Wednesday morning through 8 a.m. Thursday.
A flash flood warning — and later a flood warning — was also issued Wednesday for areas including southwestern Centre County.
As Wednesday drove on, Centre County schools, including State College, Bellefonte, Penns Valley and Bald Eagle area school districts dismissed students early due to flooding concerns.
Bill Gartner, meteorologist for NWS at State College, expected the rain to taper off during the evening hours of Wednesday. But even once the rain stops falling, people will still need to watch local creeks and rivers, and roadways will be wet for a while, Gartner said.
“There are potential dangers still out there so we advise people to drive cautiously, certainly not to drive across any roadways that might be flooded. And it will take some time for that area, streams and creeks to go back down,” he said.
Once the rain stops, the next couple of days will be “nice and cool weather, for a change,” Gartner said.
The NWS forecast for southern Centre County, which includes State College, shows a sunny day on Thursday, with highs in the lower 70s.
As of mid-Wednesday afternoon, there were no reports of major flooding. Streams and creeks were coming up across the area, Gartner said, with Spring Creek at Houserville near flood stage by late afternoon.
Gartner cautioned everyone to be careful, as cars can easily slide on water-covered roads, and reminds everyone of a National Weather Service slogan, “Don’t drown, turn around.”
“If the road’s closed, it’s got water across it, it’s better not to take the chance,” Gartner said.
This story was originally published September 1, 2021 at 4:53 PM.
