How much rain could Centre County get? A flash flood watch is in effect
Centre County is under a flash flood watch through Thursday afternoon, the National Weather Service at State College announced.
“Rain will increase in intensity by this evening, becoming heavy at times tonight into Thursday morning. Rainfall totals of 2 to 4 inches are expected with locally higher amounts possible,” the NWS alert stated on Wednesday.
A flash flood is defined as a “rapid and extreme flow of high water into a normally dry area, or a rapid water level rise in a stream or creek above a predetermined flood level, beginning within six hours of the causative event.” A watch indicates the “risk of a hazardous weather or hydrologic event has increased significantly, but its occurrence, location and/or timing is still uncertain.”
Earlier this month, the area saw heavy rainfall from a tropical system, Isaac Longley, meteorologist at AccuWeather, said, with over three inches of rainfall.
“We are currently about 140% of the normal precipitation here. Because of that, since we are running above average and ... adding another few inches on top of what we have already seen so far this month is why we have a flash flood watch in effect. Just because the ground is already pretty saturated from earlier heavy rainfall,” Longley said.
The heaviest rainfall will be off and on Wednesday evening, continuing into the night with heavy rain, Longley said. He said the system will start to move out of central Pennsylvania and Centre County around late morning or noon Thursday.
Flooding is the biggest threat with this system, as meteorologists are not expecting severe weather locally.
“The key message here is that you see any flooded roadways that please just turn around, don’t drive through it. The best thing to do is just turn around and find an alternative route and go that way instead,” Longley said.
NWS advises people to monitor the forecast and be prepared to take action should a flash flood warning be issued.
The NWS forecast for southern Centre County, which includes State College, states Thursday’s forecast shows a near 100% chance of rain, which may be heavy at times, with temperature highs in the mid-60s and 5-10 mph south winds, with gusts up to 25 mph. Friday’s forecast says it will be mostly sunny, highs in the mid-60s.
This story was originally published September 22, 2021 at 4:52 PM.
