Flash Flood in Pennsylvania, January 18, 1999

Name: Flash Flood in Pennsylvania, January 18, 1999
Start: 1999-01-18T23:00
End: 1999-01-18T23:59
Location: Pennsylvania

January 18, 1999 · NWS CTP · 1 event in 1 county or zone

1 flash flood, as filed by the National Weather Service.

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

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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.

The radar

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

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Event by event

1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, York

When: January 18, 11:00 PM EST to 11:59 PM EST
Where: York County, Countywide
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 39.920, -76.726 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A vigorous cold front moved rapidly east across the state during the afternoon of the 18th. Strong winds and rains ahead of the front produced rapid melt of the snow pack and caused flooding of roads and basements across the Susquehanna Valley. A number of people had their cars towed from flooded intersections in Lancaster and Lebanon counties during the late afternoon and evening. High winds associated with the front took down trees and powerlines in spots across the region, and tore some shingles from a home and the metal roof off a mobile home near Carrolltown in Cambria County. The front also touched off a small tornado in the Bedford area. At Unityville, in eastern Lycoming County, a couple watched as winds picked up a 32-foot camper weighing 9,000 pounds and tossed it completely over a 12-foot shed.

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 1999 Every state in 1999 This day in weather history Warnings in Pennsylvania, January 1999

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: 5679031.