Reading Rain Hole

I must admit that when I started this post, or at least had the idea on Sunday, I was not considering the potential impacts that the first hurricane of the year could have on the area. Regardless, I will continue this post while also putting in my two cents about the storm.

It would appear that central Berks county has been placed in a bubble. A very dry July compared to neighboring cities. And now August. It has been anything but dry and depending on what happens with Irene, it could become very nasty. But even while other areas get pounded by rain, Reading once again seems to be in a hole.

Check it.

Allentown is at 7.76 inches this month. They will certainly finish near the top five wettest Augusts since 1922.

Philadelphia is taking the cake with 13 inches. They already broke the monthly record and will absolutely demolish the wettest month ever perhaps by more than three inches.

And then Reading. How about a whopping total of 3.84 inches, just barely above average. If you think it's because the harder hit areas are all to the east of Reading, well Harrisburg also has received more rainfall.

Unfortunately it seems like the area is in line to potentially receive substantially more rainfall which of course would cause very serious flooding.



I hate to bring this up but if you look at my post from the 11th, I bring up a very specific location. As we approach that two week period I also mentioned in that post the current GFS model has the hurricane hitting, of all places, Myrtle Beach. And is it not odd that the first storm to impact the United States this season is also the very first hurricane of the season and we are already at the letter I?

Looking at the GFS track, the storm almost rides the coast like a winter storm. Which would actually be ever worse for the areas around here because the storm would not lose much energy. Places in and around the Chesapeake Bay and the southern coast of New Jersey would get pounded. And places like Baltimore, Philadelphia and all of Delaware and New Jersey would see very heavy rain and high winds.

Other models move the storm a bit further inland but that doesn't take away the chance for very heavy rainfall. I myself think the storms hit slightly further south then the GFS suggests, but once again, I don't see this area dodging the rain. Honestly, I just looked at two other models and one has it hitting Florida, the other has it brushing North Carolina and moving out to sea. This is where the science comes in.

Either way you look at it, a hurricane of this strength is not a good thing. We are a bit too far out to try and make guesses at what will happen locally, but if living in a flood prone area, I'd start to prepare now.