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Central Pennsylvania Late Summer-Fall 2013


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It is really pouring here again. It is amazing to see how these massive waves of rain just reform. We had 2 inches earlier in the week, then 5.75 for this event as of dinner. I have not rechecked the gauge but needless to say there is plenty more in there. At this rate I might hit 10 inches on the week but someone near mdt might break a foot from this event alone.

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I haven't read anything about the Susquehanna, any estimates yet?

 

Here's the hydrograph for the Susquehanna at Harrisburg, looks to stay several feet below action stage and well below flood stage. This forecast may get revised a little bit higher but I don't think the main stem will have any issues. Once out of the area with excessive rainfall, there's only modest input from the Juniata and it's watershed and very little if any input from the West Branch of the Susquehanna. Along the mainstem between those waterways flash flood guidance was so high beforehand (3.5-4" for 6 and 12hr) that the 2-4 inches of rain (as per doppler estimates) in that area was likely handled/absorbed pretty easily. 

 

post-1507-0-74728700-1381535788_thumb.pn

 

The Swatara at Hershey appears to be beginning to level off at minor flood stage around 7.5'. Wouldn't rule out exeeding this a bit with that latest round of heavy rain that moved through.

post-1507-0-30800300-1381535991_thumb.pn

 

As bad as some of the flash flooding has been in spots, I'm actually pretty surprised that most stream gauges on the waterways that provide flood categories are mostly at caution or minor flooding, with the only station reporting moderate flooding is Yellow Beeches Creek near Camp Hill. I certainly wouldn't have wanted to see the result of the ridiculous totals from this event coming off an above average (or even average for that matter) precipitation pattern. 

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To Mags post

That's what I have been thinking. As much rain as we received here in in the lower Susquehanna Valley in the just the past day or so the flooding isn't that bad as past events with half that amount. I know its worse in spots but still u would think it would overall  worse so we can be thankful for the lack of rain fall here lately.

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The runoff is insanely fast, my comment up thread about the Swatara was about the speed it was flowing.

Thanks for the charts!

 

That chart for the Swatara at Hershey really puts it into perspective how much of a difference this dry pattern made when you compare it to the 2011 flood. 7-10" of rain and it doesn't look to even crack into the moderate category. In 2011 this type of rainstorm with similar amounts (perhaps a tad more) set the record for this station a whopping 10 feet higher than the previous record at an incredible stage of 26.8 feet.

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That chart for the Swatara at Hershey really puts it into perspective how much of a difference this dry pattern made when you compare it to the 2011 flood. 7-10" of rain and it doesn't look to even crack into the moderate category. In 2011 this type of rainstorm with similar amounts (perhaps a tad more) set the record for this station a whopping 10 feet higher than the previous record at an incredible stage of 26.8 feet.

Good post Mag....Shows that dry ground really did absorb a lot of water.

I got 1.10" of rain here at the house.

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Yea I couldn't believe 10 inches of rain wouldn't wreak more havoc!!!

Well I saw three contributing factors to the limited flooding:

 

  1. Dry, near drought antecedent conditions.
  2. Steady rain over 60 hours, not all at once.
  3. They rains were not in the headwaters of northern Pennsylvania and limited to one spot.
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On Friday when i got home, i started assisting with flooding/storm related issues. For the most part, peoples sump pumps kept up. Most of the issues were if people didn't have a sump pump, or they had experienced some mechanical issues with theirs. I always feel bad for these people, especially the ones who take all precautions and prepare and then something out of the ordinary happens. I was told one call that had Mid Friday morning, when they opened the bilco doors, the water was just shy of spilling out. the water was almost touching the floor joists!!

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On Friday when i got home, i started assisting with flooding/storm related issues. For the most part, peoples sump pumps kept up. Most of the issues were if people didn't have a sump pump, or they had experienced some mechanical issues with theirs. I always feel bad for these people, especially the ones who take all precautions and prepare and then something out of the ordinary happens. I was told one call that had Mid Friday morning, when they opened the bilco doors, the water was just shy of spilling out. the water was almost touching the floor joists!!

Do you run non-emergency response on those calls?  Our department does if there is less than 1 foot of water.  Afterwards it's deemed a life hazard because the water level could be messing with the foundation or utilities.

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Do you run non-emergency response on those calls?  Our department does if there is less than 1 foot of water.  Afterwards it's deemed a life hazard because the water level could be messing with the foundation or utilities.

Yes, non-emergency. During large events like this one, all non emergency calls are phoned to the station, by the county, A duty officer then will go out and determine what resources are needed. We have sumps we loan. Once we go set them up, we leave and then the duty officer will make rounds checking on them, so we don't tie up manpower or equipment. One of the calls i was on and several time on Friday,  we ran a 250 gpm portable pump until we got the water down, then hooked up a sump pump and left to go to the next incident.

 

Through the years i have been on numerous flash flooding incidents that resulted in structure damage and or collapse.

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Yes, non-emergency. During large events like this one, all non emergency calls are phoned to the station, by the county, A duty officer then will go out and determine what resources are needed. We have sumps we loan. Once we go set them up, we leave and then the duty officer will make rounds checking on them, so we don't tie up manpower or equipment. One of the calls i was on and several time on Friday,  we ran a 250 gpm portable pump until we got the water down, then hooked up a sump pump and left to go to the next incident.

Good process.  We usually run a brush truck with a 100 gpm pump if it's under the 1 foot.  After that it's 1 engine company and the 250 gpm.

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are any of my fellow gardners still harvesting? I am still getting tomatoes. and my Roma's are going ape ****. Were also getting sweet bananna peppers and Yellow/orange bells

I had deer wipe out my tomatoes. Like, ate half the plants too. But I am getting new tomatoes. I think we might get a frost next Monday though, but I am hopeful I can get green tomatoes so I can freeze them and have fried green tomatoes in January. Curiously enough, my tomatillos are really rolling along. 

 

Other stuff is really rolling along, and not just the fall stuff. My peppers are doing well, for example. 

 

One thing, I consider gardening a three-season activity anyway, so I'd still be harvesting. I've harvested something, whether it's just winter onions, every month since Feb 2009. I grow a fair amount of greens that do great in autumn, such as Asian cabbages. For example, Tatsoi, which is great in salads and stir fries, can survive temps down to 15 degrees. And I keep my parsnips and salsify in the ground much of the winter, mulch them, and harvest when the ground isn't frozen. People who don't plant fall veggies are missing out on some fantastic tasting stuff, since root veggies and frost-hardy greens taste much better after a frost. 

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