Flash Flooding in Pennsylvania, September 16 to 17, 1999

Moisture associated with the remnants of Hurricane Floyd moved north along a frontal boundary that was stalled from eastern Pennsylvania to New England. Rain developed over northeast Pennsylvania during the predawn hours and became heavy at times throughout the afternoon and night as "Floyd" continued up the east coast. Before the rain let up during the morning of the 17th, four to seven inches of rain was common across the Poconos and Wyoming Valley. Slightly lesser amounts, ranging from three to five inches were noted in the northern Tier.Fortunately, due to the drought conditions that plagued the area over the summer months, these heavy amounts of rain were able to be efficiently absorbed by the parched topsoil, resulting in widespread, but only minor flooding. Most of northeast Pennsylvania experienced small stream flooding along with ponding and flooding of poor drainage areas and basements. Hardest hit areas were in and around the cities of Wilkes-Barre, Scranton and Hazleton where some flooded streets approached water depths of three feet. Water was seen rushing down hillsides in Pike county where numerous road washouts were reported. Main stem rivers and tributaries experienced no flooding, but water levels and flows increased back to near normal readings after several months below average.