Flash Flood, Northampton
- When
- December 13, 11:00 PM EST to December 14, 4:00 AM EST
- Where
- Northampton County, Countywide
- Coordinates
- 40.754, -75.307 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flash Flood in Pennsylvania, December 13 to 14, 1996
Heavy rain falling over already saturated soil caused urban flooding and flooding of some of the smaller streams in Berks County and throughout the Lehigh Valley. 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 falling over already saturated soil caused urban flooding and flooding of some of the smaller streams in Berks County and throughout the Lehigh Valley. About an inch of rain fell at the Lehigh Valley International Airport between 7 p.m. EST on the 13th and 1 a.m. EST on the 14th. This was part of a 48 hour precipitation event that dropped between 2 and 3 inches of rain across the region. Storm totals included 3.47 inches in Hopewell Furnace, 2.75 inches in Reading, 2.26 inches at the Lehigh Valley International Airport and 2.2 inches in Hamburg.
The radar
The Philadelphia radar (KDIX), 118 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 04:01 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: 5576964.