One Week To Go

It would only seem appropriate that the last week of September and the close to this two month rainfall total project would have multiple chances for rain.  And with my updated totals, Philadelphia will pass the 30 inch total.  Quite astounding when you consider that in a normal year, this would account for over 70% of the yearly total.  Wonder what yearly totals will look like?  Maybe more records to push.

Of course the perfect end to this rain-soaked end of summer would be to have a beautiful fall.  If the forecast for the first 10 days of October is any indication, it just might come true.  Seasonal temperatures and sunshine light up the first week of October.  Even though I'm not much of a sunny skies kinda of guy, we could all use a break from all this rain and at times, the humidity.

Speaking of the humidity, quite a different Sunday run this weekend then last.  One week ago, people were dressed in layers, some even sporting gloves or hats as race time temperatures started in the 40's.  Add in the rolling hills, fresh water and wooded path and it made for a great rookie run.  Yesterday, not so much.  Even had the race started two hours earlier like the previous one, it wouldn't have made much of a difference.  It was warm enough to sweat before the race had begun.  Seeing the sun finally break through the clouds as we approached the starting line only made it more interesting.  Running around Reading, even if we were near the river, provided far less shade than I expected as much of the race went on to roads.  Nonetheless, I am happy with my effort considering my weekend was jam packed with various events.

Seeing the cool air coming in for the weekend, I think it might just be time to sign up for the next race on Sunday.

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What Is That?

For a brief moment on Monday I actually thought we were moving towards the beginning of summer.  It was the first time the sun was out in what seemed like weeks, and the warmth hit me like one of those late spring days that the body is not ready for.  But alas, we are not heading in that direction and if you want confirmation, wake up early this weekend. 

Before we can get to one of the nicest weekends we have seen in awhile, some of us yet again had to deal with rain issues.  This is what the National Weather Service map looked like Sunday night.  Virtually all of Berks county was under a Flash Flood Warning as heavy rain slowly moved through.

The rain, which was not quite expected, helped raise totals even higher. As we move through the rest of the month, I will keep a running tab on the right side of the blog with rainfall totals updated after each measurable rainfall.  Hopefully we can slowly move away from this topic.  But even as I write this I can hear the distant sounds of thunder as a line of rain approaches.

Tomorrow brings a very special day for me.  It marks the return of the Hydrometeorlogical Center's winter weather page.  I can already feel the chill in the air and can't wait to enjoy some runs in the snow. 

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Current Precip Totals

It would finally appear that the heaviest rains have moved out of the area but not before giving my area a drenching thunderstorm at 2:00 am Saturday morning.  Now the cleanup can begin as the week ahead looks to be far less wet and should even turn cooler. 

Here are the current up to date totals for my five selected locations.

Philadelphia- 26.29
Allentown-  20.61
Harrisburg- 18.00
Lancaster- 16.88
Reading- 15.72


Philadelphia really jumps out to a big lead and are the first to hit the 25 inch mark.  I'm not exactly sure how their total jumped other than the original totals being not official.  Allentown was set to pass the 20 mark and they have done that.  I think it is fair to say that Harrisburg and even Lancaster also have a chance to top 20 inches depending on how the rest of the month goes.  Now the question remains if Philadelphia can hit 30 inches of rain in the span of two months.

As far as totals from this last round of rain brought on by the tropical system that affected the south, the higher amount were certainly felt closer to the center of the state.  Here are a couple totals for towns thanks to the National Weather Service.

Bernville, right here in Berks County, reported the most amount of rain according to the Mount Holly office.  They received 11.69 inches from this past storm.  In fact, nobody else that I could find received more than 10 inches in southeast PA or the western counties of New Jersey.

That was not the case in central PA.  Both Harrisburg and York reported over 10 inches of rain at the airports.  Elizabethtown had over 15 inches.  Hershey had over 12. 

As much as I like a rainy day, I am ready for a couple sunny days without having to update this portion of my blog.

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Race Update

Reading- 12.68 inches
Philadelphia- 23.02 inches
Allentown- 19.63 inches
Lancaster- 12.90 inches
Harrisburg- 16.08 inches

Makes you wonder sometimes with all the hysteria leading up to Hurricane Irene, the storm that does the most damage to Berks County and the Lehigh Valley is a tropical storm that makes landfall in Louisiana.  And a hurricane that will not make landfall in the United States has helped to enhance the rain totals that are now pushing 10 inches.  I can put myself down as never would have guessing this.  Almost makes me wonder what the next couple weeks have in store.  It would seem likely that things will really calm down.

Around my area it was your typical September day.  The local school district was closed due to the flooding.  Some schools have been closed or delayed four times in the first two weeks of school due to flooding or power issues.  We were greeted at work by an e-mail letting us know the detoured road leading away from the plant to the south, the road I avoided yesterday, will be closed possibly until next Sunday.  Yes, the Sunday over a week away from today.  And the road I took instead was also flooded and chewed up.  My co-worker informed me as we prepare to head for State College that the open-field parking for Saturday's game will be changed due to fear that if cars park on the swamp-like grass they might not get out.  And one game attendee will miss the big match-up with Alabama because his basement is flooded.  Just a typical once-in-a-hundred-year period.

At this point I am ready to see some clearer days.  Normally I like a cool, rainy day.  This is getting to be too much.

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Flooding Rain Update

It would only seem fitting that the day after I make a post about a rain total race, certain areas get walloped with rain today.  Judging by the radar it looked like the two cities at the bottom of the list, Reading and Lancaster hard hits.  I know I had a blast driving home from work today.

First some updates from Tuesday.


Reading makes a strong jump up from 8.7 inches to 11.01

Lancaster clears the 10 inch barrier and moves to 10.27 (I expect a very big leap from today's rain)

Allentown will certainly move past 20 inches when totals come out. They move up to 18.03.

Philadelphia becomes the first to break the 20 mark and currently sit at 21.54 inches.

Harrisburg was a bit on the shorter end moving up to 12.92.

Totals will rocket up tomorrow.  I have already seen reports coming out from some of the places above that put them upwards of five inches for the day. I wasn't quite expecting the amount of flooding I witnessed today. Perhaps it was just bad timing as I left work right after extremely heavy rain but those back roads we take due to a bridge being out were not in good condition. Probably was the first time I can recall being nervous. It seemed like every 25 yards the road was taken over by moving water coming down from the rolling hills. In some places I didn't even know where it was coming from. It was everywhere. Even when I finally got to a busier road it was flooded in spots. I went for a run as the rain had stopped and waters went down. People were out and about checking out the local creeks. I ran over the first bridge that houses the creek behind my house and you could tell it went over the road. Even a giant tree trunk was sitting next to the bridge. The larger creek completely closed the road as spectators gathered on the bridge to watch.

More heavy rain and thunderstorms are riding the track northward right now. I'd expect to see some large totals of rain tomorrow. Maybe somebody even hits six inches.

To answer view questions, I haven't read about any winter predictions yet. Joe Bastardi is usually my go to guy as his predictions have been very accurate. This is the first year he is not with AccuWeather and now works for a site that require a fee. The only things I have seen are predictions for an average winter so far. I will keep checking for updates from credible people. None of those sources include the local duds. And if all this rain over the last month and one week had been snow, well we would have blown away all records. The general rule is one inch of rain is equal to 10 inches of snow. So in just over one month, Philadelphia would be sitting under roughly 215 inches of snow. That's even too much for me.

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Race to 25

If precipitation totals in August and September were any indication of what is to come in January and February, we would be in for one heck of a record-breaking winter.  To my understanding, there is no collaboration.

Now the question in my head that lingers is who will be the first city in eastern Pennsylvania to hit the 25-inch rainfall total from the span of August through September.  What about 30?  Soaking summer thunderstorms in early August transitioned into drenching downpours from Irene.  And now we are in the midst of days of rain thanks to the remnants of another tropical system tracking over us due to a stalled front.

With that being said, various parts of our region have been hit harder than others.  But generally speaking with these three big rainmakers, everybody has had and will have an equal chance of seeing high rain totals.  However, the zone to watch seems to be the area between Philadelphia and Berks County.

In order to keep this interesting, one location from each region will be selected to represent that area.  This should help distinguish rain totals.  Obviously the selected city must report their rain totals so I will not be able to do as many locations as I wanted to. 

Let’s begin.

Starting with the hometown team and representing all of Berks County will be Reading who struggled in early August to get much of any rain.  It will take a lot to compete with some of the other locations but we will see how the month goes.  As of now they sit at 8.7 inches.

Representing the Lehigh Valley will be Allentown.  I couldn’t find totals for both Bethlehem and Allentown so we will just go with the one.  Allentown has been in that zone of solid rain over the last month or so where they seem to get a bit of everything.  Solid total of 15.33 inches.

The front runners of the competition and record setters showing the brotherly love is none other than Philadelphia.  They will cover all of the Delaware Valley.  They have been flat out hammered.  They demolished their record for rain in a month and are comfortably out in front with 19.82 inches.

Lancaster has also been in a bit of a hole when it comes to the rain but the city better known for farms and Amish will at least give Reading a battle.  They are a bit behind with 8.51 inches but should make a good push by the end of the week.

The state capital will be the last city in the battle.  Like Lancaster, Harrisburg could make a decent play depending on the rainfall this week.  They have fared better or worse depending on how you look at it than places like Reading and Lancaster.  They have received a solid 11.48 inches.

Totals will be updated anytime any of these locations receive rain.  I'm basically expecting a post every day for the rest of the week.  Hopefully we get a break before the next tallies as flooding would once again become a concern.  

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