Flash Flood in Pennsylvania, December 2, 1996

Name: Flash Flood in Pennsylvania, December 2, 1996
Start: 1996-12-02T05:30
End: 1996-12-02T16:30
Location: Pennsylvania

December 2, 1996 · NWS PHI · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Rain, which fell from December 1st into the morning of the 2nd, became heavy at times during the early morning of the 2nd. 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

Open the live radar over this ground

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.

Rain, which fell from December 1st into the morning of the 2nd, became heavy at times during the early morning of the 2nd. At the Philadelphia International Airport, 0.56 inches of rain fell between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m EST on the 2nd. The heavy rain caused flooding on some of the smaller streams as well as urban flooding in Bucks County. The Neshaminy Creek at Langhorne, reached its 9 foot flood stage at 530 a.m. EST on the 2nd, crested at 10.7 feet at 1 p.m. EST on the 2nd and was back within bankfull at 430 p.m. EST on the 2nd. Storm totals included 3.24 inches in Doylestown, 2.87 inches in Neshaminy Falls, 2.74 inches in Springtown, 2.3 inches in Southampton, 2.28 inches in Perkasie, 2.2 inches in Fricks, 2.18 inches in Sellersville, and 1.94 inches in New Hope. No serious injuries or damage were reported.

The radar

The Philadelphia radar (KDIX), 73 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 10:30 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, Bucks

When: December 2, 5:30 AM EST to 4:30 PM EST
Where: Bucks County, Countywide
Coordinates: 40.337, -75.107 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

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

Every storm in Pennsylvania in 1996 Every state in 1996 This day in weather history Warnings 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: 5576734.