The last two to three weeks have been quite active across Central Pennsylvania as we have found ourselves under several Flood Watches and Flood Warnings because of the threat for heavy rain. At times, there have been some quick dumps of snow and ice to remind us that it is still winter, too.
The problem over the last two weeks has been the constant snowmelt combined with a moderate to heavy rainfall every couple of days. The frequent rainfall certainly doesn't help the situation, but it was the constant melting snow that really helped keep the rivers, streams and creeks high over the past couple of weeks. This past week, we saw some heavy amounts of rain on Sunday followed by heavy amounts for snow for some Sunday night. After the sun came out for a couple of days, the snow melted pretty quickly, which helped keep the streams and creeks high. Then, we tossed 1 to 3 inches of rain on a fairly saturated ground Wednesday and Thursday, which led to the flooding that we saw.
The good news is that we have finally broken that cycle of a couple of dry days followed by a rain or snow event. We will see some rounds of light showers and light rain this week, but the rain totals by the end of this coming week will be a drop in the bucket compared to what we had last week. And since there is very little snow on the ground, the break from the heavy rains will finally allow those rivers, streams and creeks to return to their banks.
--Meteorologist Brian Thompson
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