Alert archive / Pennsylvania / Flash Flood Warnings in 2026

Flash Flood Warning 94, NWS State College, PA

September 17, 2026Somerset County, Pennsylvania

NWS State College, PA issued this flash flood warning at Sep 17, 2026, 9:16 PM EDT for Somerset County, Pennsylvania. It was in force for 3 hr. 2 reports came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued
Sep 17, 2026, 9:16 PM EDT (01:16 UTC)
Expired
Sep 17, 2026, 11:57 PM EDT
In force
3 hr
Issued by
NWS State College, PA
Area
Storm-based polygon
Flood severity
None

County Somerset County, PA

The radar

The Pittsburgh radar (KPBZ), 112 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 01:17 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.

Open the radar archive at this moment

The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Sep 17, 9:20 PM EDTFLASH FLOOD1 S Davidsville, PAFlooded basement on South Main Street in Davidsville. Report of 18 inches of water in the basement.
Sep 17, 9:45 PM EDTFLASH FLOOD3 W Jerome, PAFlooding on Somerset Pike near Kaufman Road.

Local storm reports filed while the alert was in force, from inside its polygon or its counties.

Did it verify

Verified. The Iowa Environmental Mesonet's Cow matched 2 storm reports to this flash flood warning; the first came 4 minutes after it went out.

Cow counts a report within 15 km of the polygon while the warning was in force: a tornado for a tornado warning; hail of 1 inch or more, a gust of 58 mph or more or wind damage for a severe thunderstorm warning; a flash flood report for a flash flood warning.

The nearest sounding before it

Pittsburgh, PA (KPIT), launched 00:00Z, 1.3 hours before the alert went out and 98 km from the middle of its area. This is the routine balloon launch nearest before it, the air the forecaster had in hand, not a measurement taken for the alert.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Pittsburgh, PA at 00:00Z on 2026-09-18Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1027 joules per kilogram.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Pittsburgh, PA at 00:00Z on 2026-09-18The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 55 square meters per square second.1939Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km.
Mixed-layer CAPE
1027 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-1 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
717 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
25 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
55 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
81 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.2
Supercell composite
1.9

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted.

907 
WGUS51 KCTP 180116
FFWCTP
PAC111-180415-
/O.NEW.KCTP.FF.W.0094.260918T0116Z-260918T0415Z/
/00000.0.ER.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.OO/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
Flash Flood Warning
National Weather Service State College PA
916 PM EDT Thu Sep 17 2026

The National Weather Service in State College has issued a

* Flash Flood Warning for...
  Northeastern Somerset County in south central Pennsylvania...

* Until 1215 AM EDT.

* At 916 PM EDT, Doppler radar indicated thunderstorms producing
  heavy rain across the warned area. Between 1 and 2 inches of rain
  have fallen. Additional rainfall amounts up to 1 inch are possible
  in the warned area. Flash flooding is ongoing or expected to begin
  shortly.

  HAZARD...Flash flooding caused by thunderstorms.

  SOURCE...Radar indicated.

  IMPACT...Flash flooding of small creeks and streams, urban areas,
           highways, streets and underpasses as well as other poor
           drainage and low-lying areas.

* Some locations that will experience flash flooding include...
  Windber, Boswell, Davidsville, Central City, Jerome, Tire Hill,
  Ogletown, Jennerstown, Hooversville and Benson.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

Turn around, don't drown when encountering flooded roads. Most flood
deaths occur in vehicles.

Be especially cautious at night when it is harder to recognize the
dangers of flooding.

Be aware of your surroundings and do not drive on flooded roads.

&&

LAT...LON 4021 7911 4029 7906 4028 7893 4027 7889
      4026 7890 4024 7888 4024 7866 4011 7872
      4011 7892 4016 7915 4016 7914 4020 7913

FLASH FLOOD...RADAR INDICATED

$$

Bauco
1 follow-up statement
052 
WGUS71 KCTP 180357
FFSCTP

Flash Flood Statement
National Weather Service State College PA
1157 PM EDT Thu Sep 17 2026

PAC111-180407-
/O.CAN.KCTP.FF.W.0094.000000T0000Z-260918T0415Z/
/00000.0.ER.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.OO/
Somerset PA-
1157 PM EDT Thu Sep 17 2026

...FLASH FLOOD WARNING IS CANCELLED FOR NORTHEASTERN SOMERSET
COUNTY...

The heavy rain has ended. Flash flooding is no longer expected to
pose a threat. Please continue to heed any remaining road closures.

&&

LAT...LON 4028 7893 4027 7890 4027 7889 4026 7890
      4024 7888 4024 7866 4011 7872 4011 7892
      4016 7915 4016 7914 4018 7914 4018 7913
      4020 7913 4021 7911 4029 7906

$$

Colbert

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this flash flood warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS State College, PA wrote its last area forecast discussion before this flash flood warning went out at Sep 17, 7:23 PM EDT, 1 hour 53 minutes earlier. Its key messages:

  • 1) Very humid with locally heavy rainfall possible this afternoon 2) Cooler this weekend with rain returning by Sunday
Area forecast discussion, Sep 17, 7:23 PM EDT, 1 hour 53 minutes before
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service State College PA
723 PM EDT Thu Sep 17 2026

.WHAT HAS CHANGED...
* Added higher fog probabilities in for early Friday morning
* Adjusted pops for scattered afternoon rain

&&

.KEY MESSAGES...
1) Very humid with locally heavy rainfall possible this
afternoon

2) Cooler this weekend with rain returning by Sunday

&&

.DISCUSSION...
KEY MESSAGE 1: Very humid with locally heavy rainfall possible
this afternoon

Morning rounds of rain have slid off to the southeast with only
isolated showers in the northern tier of counties across our
CWA. Afternoon coverage of showers and thunderstorms remains
uncertain, but with additional convection beginning to develop
to our west over Pittsburg's area we can expect at least a few
heavy downpours later this afternoon before the stratiform rain
shield over Ohio arrives later tonight. By midnight the cold
front should be south of the PA/MD border, and with some
scattering of clouds anticipated and light winds leading into
Friday morning fog development seems probable over areas that
saw rain today.

Previous Discussion...
Highly anomalous moisture for this time of year (NAEFS mean
pwat values near climatological maximum percentiles) pooling
around the periphery of subtropical high over the southern
Plains and lower MS Valley will interact with a surface cold
front moving slowly south/southeastward from the lower Great
Lakes to produce periods of showers and a few locally heavy
thunderstorms across Pennsylvania later today. 17/00Z HREF
indicates the potential for spot rain amounts of 2-3 inches.
It's very likely that most of central PA picks up some rainfall
by tonight. However, we do not anticipate an all-day
rain/washout. Cloud trends remain a tough call with early
morning convection over north central PA, but fcst instability
this afternoon across south central PA will be more than
supportive for thunderstorm development. SPC continues to
maintain a general (non-severe) convective outlook for today
which is likely due to the lack of deep layer shear (displaced
farther to the north) and poor mid level lapse rates (very
moist, tall/skinny soundings with warm cloud depths greater than
10kft).

KEY MESSAGE 2: Cooler this weekend with rain returning by Sunday

Another taste of Fall is on the way for the end of the week
with noticeably cooler and much drier/less humid air poised to
return behind the front (Td crashing into the 40s/50s). Expect a
crisp and cool overnight Friday into Saturday morning with some
upper 30s possible across the northern tier. Dry/fair wx
conditions are forecast to start the weekend and last through
the day on Saturday followed by periods of potentially heavy
rainfall Saturday night through early next week. Both NAEFS and
ECMWF SATs show at least 90th percentile PWs returning the the
region which is supportive for at least a marginal excessive
rain signal. A surface low expected to track over the Great
Lakes will usher in this moisture and more than enough forcing
for widespread precipitation. NBM temps have also
cooled/moderated quite a bit Mon- Wed with most locations
struggling to exceed 70F for daytime highs.

&&

.AVIATION /00Z FRIDAY THROUGH TUESDAY/...
Cold front across the northern mountains will drop slowly
southward across the area this evening and overnight, reaching
the MD border well after midnight. Scattered SHRA and isolated
TSRA expected over the next few hours, as the front interacts
on the warmer and more humid airmass across the south.

Problem overnight will be low CIGS and fog.

Conditions will improve slowly from north to south on Friday,
as drier air works into the area.

Outlook...

Sat...AM valley fog and some MVFR ceilings S. Then VFR.

Sat night-Tuesday...Periods of rain/storms with MVFR likely
(70%) and IFR possible (30%) for short periods.

&&

.CTP WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
None.

&&

WHAT HAS CHANGED...Bowen
KEY MESSAGES...Steinbugl/Bowen
DISCUSSION...Steinbugl/Bowen
AVIATION...Martin
Hazardous weather outlook, Sep 17, 1:44 PM EDT, 7 hours 32 minutes before
Hazardous Weather Outlook
National Weather Service State College PA
144 PM EDT Thu Sep 17 2026

PAZ004>006-010>012-017>019-024>028-033>037-041-042-045-046-049>053-
056>059-063>066-181745-
Warren-McKean-Potter-Elk-Cameron-Northern Clinton-Clearfield-
Northern Centre-Southern Centre-Cambria-Blair-Huntingdon-Mifflin-
Juniata-Somerset-Bedford-Fulton-Franklin-Tioga-Northern Lycoming-
Sullivan-Southern Clinton-Southern Lycoming-Union-Snyder-Montour-
Northumberland-Columbia-Perry-Dauphin-Schuylkill-Lebanon-Cumberland-
Adams-York-Lancaster-
144 PM EDT Thu Sep 17 2026

This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for central Pennsylvania.

.DAY ONE...This afternoon and tonight.

Locally heavy rain may result in isolated instances of flooding this
afternoon and evening especially in locations that can experience
rapid runoff.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Friday through Wednesday.

The probability for widespread hazardous weather is low.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

Spotters are encouraged to report significant hazardous weather.

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Sep 17, 6:03 PM EDT, 3 hours 13 minutes before
Special Weather Statement
National Weather Service State College PA
603 PM EDT Thu Sep 17 2026

PAZ050>053-058-172300-
Columbia PA-Northumberland PA-Montour PA-Snyder PA-Schuylkill PA-
603 PM EDT Thu Sep 17 2026

...A STRONG THUNDERSTORM WILL IMPACT CENTRAL SCHUYLKILL...
NORTHUMBERLAND...NORTHEASTERN SNYDER...SOUTHERN MONTOUR AND SOUTHERN
COLUMBIA COUNTIES THROUGH 700 PM EDT...

At 602 PM EDT, Doppler radar was tracking a strong thunderstorm over
Sunbury, moving southeast at 25 mph.

HAZARD...Wind gusts up to 50 mph.

SOURCE...Radar indicated.

IMPACT...Gusty winds could knock down tree limbs and blow around
         unsecured objects.

Locations impacted include...
Pottsville, Sunbury, Shamokin, Mount Carmel, Selinsgrove, Shenandoah,
Danville, Minersville, Mahanoy City, Frackville, Northumberland, St.
Clair, Kulpmont, Ashland, Elysburg, Fairview-Ferndale, Riverside,
Port Carbon, Trevorton, and Tremont.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

If outdoors, consider seeking shelter inside a building.

Very heavy rainfall is also occurring with this storm and may lead to
localized flooding. Do not drive your vehicle through flooded
roadways.

&&

LAT...LON 4056 7627 4075 7708 4088 7691 4089 7682
      4092 7686 4103 7672 4086 7598
TIME...MOT...LOC 2202Z 291DEG 22KT 4085 7678

MAX HAIL SIZE...0.00 IN
MAX WIND GUST...50 MPH

Martin

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Pennsylvania, 2026Every flash flood warning in 2026

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; local storm reports from the same archive; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.