Flash Flood, Chester
- When
- December 13, 7:30 PM EST to December 14, 1:30 AM EST
- Where
- Chester County, Countywide
- Coordinates
- 39.973, -75.748 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flash Flood in Pennsylvania, December 13 to 14, 1996
Heavy rain associated with a low pressure system near Delaware the evening of the 13th caused flooding on the East Branch of the Brandywine Creek and some of the smaller streams within Chester County. m.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 1
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
What happened
The episode as NWS PHI wrote it up.
Heavy rain associated with a low pressure system near Delaware the evening of the 13th caused flooding on the East Branch of the Brandywine Creek and some of the smaller streams within Chester County. At Downingtown, the East Branch of the Brandywine Creek reached its 7 foot flood stage at 730 p.m. EST, crested at 10.1 feet at 4 a.m. EST on the 14th and was within bankfull at 11 a.m. EST on the 14th.
The radar
The Philadelphia radar (KDIX), 114 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 00:30 UTC.
Event by event
1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Flash Flood
- Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- High Wind in New Mexico, December 13, 1996
- Flash Flood in Maryland, December 13, 1996
- Flash Flood in New York, December 13, 1996
- Coastal Flood in New York, December 13, 1996
- Coastal Flood in New Jersey, December 13 to 15, 1996
- Heavy Snow in New York, December 13 to 14, 1996
- Heavy Rain in New Jersey, December 13 to 14, 1996
- Heavy Snow in Montana, December 13 to 14, 1996
- Coastal Flood in New Jersey, December 13 to 14, 1996
- Coastal Flood in Connecticut, December 13, 1996
- Coastal Flood in Pennsylvania, December 13, 1996
- Winter Storm in New York, December 13 to 14, 1996
More
Every storm in Pennsylvania in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in Pennsylvania, December 1996
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5576961.