Heavy Rain in Pennsylvania, December 5 to 6, 1996

Name: Heavy Rain in Pennsylvania, December 5 to 6, 1996
Start: 1996-12-05T22:00
End: 1996-12-06T10:00
Location: Pennsylvania

December 5 to 6, 1996 · NWS PHI · 7 events in 7 counties and zones

A low pressure system developed over South Carolina the afternoon of the 5th. ), heavy rain spread across Southeast Pennsylvania after midnight on the 6th.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 4 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

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The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 7

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.

A low pressure system developed over South Carolina the afternoon of the 5th. As it quickly intensified and moved northeast (It passed just east of the New Jersey coast the morning of the 6th.), heavy rain spread across Southeast Pennsylvania after midnight on the 6th. Storm totals averaged between 1.00 and 1.50 inches across the area, the second soaking precipitation event of the month. Precipitation changed to snow before ending across the area. Accumulations (Mostly an inch or two) were confined to the Lehigh Valley and the far northern and western suburbs of Philadelphia. Precipitation totals included 1.82 inches (2.0 inches of snow) in Palm (Montgomery County), 1.58 inches in Crum Creek (Delaware County), 1.4 inches at the Northeast Philadelphia Airport, 1.38 inches in Phoenixville (Chester County), 1.37 inches at the Willow Grove NAS, 1.32 inches (1.5 inches of snow) in Springtown (Bucks County), 1.31 inches (1.0 inch of snow) at the Lehigh Valley International Airport and 1.17 inches at the Philadelphia International Airport.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

7 heavy rain. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Rain, Lehigh

When: December 5, 10:00 PM EST to December 6, 10:00 AM EST
Where: Lehigh forecast zone
Coordinates: 40.613, -75.592 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Rain, Northampton

When: December 5, 10:00 PM EST to December 6, 10:00 AM EST
Where: Northampton forecast zone
Coordinates: 40.754, -75.307 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Rain, Montgomery

When: December 5, 11:00 PM EST to December 6, 10:00 AM EST
Where: Montgomery forecast zone

Heavy Rain, Bucks

When: December 5, 11:00 PM EST to December 6, 10:00 AM EST
Where: Bucks forecast zone

Heavy Rain, Delaware

When: December 6, 12:00 AM EST to 10:00 AM EST
Where: Delaware forecast zone
Coordinates: 39.917, -75.399 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Rain, Philadelphia

When: December 6, 12:00 AM EST to 10:00 AM EST
Where: Philadelphia forecast zone
Coordinates: 40.008, -75.134 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Rain, Chester

When: December 6, 12:00 AM EST to 10:00 AM EST
Where: Chester forecast zone

What these are

Heavy Rain: Rainfall totals unusual for the place and season that did not produce a flood.

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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5577388, 5577389, 5577390, 5577391, 5577392, 5577393, 5577394.