Pennsylvania, 2000

Flash Flooding in Pennsylvania, September 19, 2000

September 19, 2000 · NWS PHI · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

The remnants of what once was Hurricane Gordon dropped heavy rain across southeast Pennsylvania during the late afternoon and early evening of the 19th. It caused poor drainage flooding in low-lying areas.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 2 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
$25,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
2

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.

The remnants of what once was Hurricane Gordon dropped heavy rain across southeast Pennsylvania during the late afternoon and early evening of the 19th. It caused poor drainage flooding in low-lying areas. The heaviest rain fell along the Montgomery/Bucks County border near the Willow Grove NAS and also caused small stream flooding. The rain was not unusually heavy, but came after what was already an unseasonably wet September and summer. In Bucks County, stream flooding was reported in the Little Neshaminy Creek Basin in Warrington and Warminster Townships. Several roads were flooded. In Montgomery County, the Pennypack Creek overflowed and damaged parked cars at the Pennypack Elementary School in Hatboro. Flood waters also covered the lobby, dining room and kitchen floors of the Old Mill Inn. In Horsham Township, homes on County Line Road were flooded. One home had four feet of water in its garage. Storm totals included 2.64 inches at the Willow Grove NAS (Montgomery County), 2.60 inches in Southampton (Bucks County), 2.46 inches at King of Prussia (Montgomery County), 2.22 inches in Reading (Berks County), 2.18 inches at Northeast Philadelphia Airport, 1.69 inches at Neshaminy Falls (Bucks County), 1.66 inches in Exton (Chester County) and 1.57 inches in Furlong (Bucks County), No serious injuries were reported.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, Bucks

When
September 19, 8:00 PM EST to 10:00 PM EST
Where
Bucks County, Warrington
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
40.337, -75.107 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Montgomery

When
September 19, 8:00 PM EST to 10:00 PM EST
Where
Montgomery County, Hatboro
Property damage
$25,000
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
40.211, -75.367 (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

More

Every storm in Pennsylvania in 2000Every state in 2000This day in weather historyWarnings in Pennsylvania, September 2000

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: 5156779, 5156780.