Pennsylvania, 2001

Flash Flood in Pennsylvania, January 30 to 31, 2001

January 30 to 31, 2001 · 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.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS State College, PA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 30, 2:00 PM EST, 2 hours 45 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 30, 2:00 PM EST, 2 hours 45 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA
2 PM EST TUE JAN 30 2001

OCCLUDED FRONT CURRENTLY MOVING THROUGH OUR CWA. OUR RADAR INDICATES
ECHOS ARE WEAKENING AS THE PRECIPITATION MOVES NORTHEASTWARD INTO
THE MORE STABLE ATMOSPHERE. DRY SLOT NOSING ITS WAY INTO SOUTHWEST
PENNSYLVANIA...WITH SOME PEAKS OF SUN EVEN IN HAPPY VALLEY. THE
ASSOCIATED UPPER WAVE IS SLOWLY MOVING EASTWARD FROM THE MIDWEST.
MODELS SHOW THIS WAVE GRADUALLY WEAKENING AND OPENING UP AS IT
APPROACHES US.

COLD ADVECTION AT MIDLEVELS IS EXPECTED TO START LATE TONIGHT AND
TAKE HOLD ON WEDNESDAY. HENCE WITH LEFT OVER MOISTURE...CLOUDS AND
PRECIPITATION ARE LIKELY. STRONG WESTERLY WINDS AT 850 MB SUPPORTS
BLUSTERY WORDING. WITH THE MAJORITY OF THE COLD ADVECTION OCCURRING
BETWEEN 700 MB AND THE SURFACE...WILL BE CAPPED AT MIDLEVELS IN THE
SOUTHEAST TOMORROW AFTERNOON. THEREFORE...WILL DROP THE MENTION OF
THUNDER.

VORTICITY AXIS ASSOCIATED WITH UPPER WAVE MOVES THROUGH WEDNESDAY
AFTERNOON WITH A BREAK ANTICIPATED AT WEDNESDAY NIGHT.

IN THE EXTENDED...A SHORT WAVE CURRENTLY NORTH OF MONTANA WILL RIDE
THE STRONG JET STREAM SOUTHEAST AND SET UP IN THE MIDWEST BY LATE
THURSDAY. THE ETA MODEL IS WEAKER...SHOWING A POSITIVELY TILTED
TROUGH WITH WEAK IMPULSES EMBEDDED IN IT. THE AVN MODEL IS MUCH
STRONGER WITH SEVERAL STRONG IMPULSES WITHIN THE TROUGH. FAVOR THE
ETA VERSION AS THE CANADIAN SURFACE HIGH IS NOT TOO PROGRESSIVE.
THIS WAVE SHOULD INDUCE WEAK CYCLOGENESIS OVER A QUASI STATIONARY
BAROCLINIC ZONE TO OUR NORTH. MAIN WEATHER FROM THIS SYSTEM IS
EXPECTED TO BE CAUSED BY THE UPPER SYSTEM ON FRIDAY.

A CLIPPER SYSTEM DIVES DOWN FROM CANADA ON SATURDAY...PROVIDING
LIGHT PRECIPITATION WITH THE PASSING OF A WARM FRONT. THE FULL IMPACT
OF THE SYSTEM IS FELT BY SUNDAY. ANOTHER CANADIAN STORM WILL PROVIDE
PRECIPITATION FOR MONDAY AND TUESDAY.

.CTP...NONE.

ROGOWSKI/MARTIN

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, Lancaster

When
January 30, 4:45 PM EST to January 31, 6:30 PM EST
Where
Lancaster County, Countywide
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
40.042, -76.248 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Rainfall and warm temperatures combined to form an ice jam along Pequea Creek at Paradise in Lancaster County. An automated gage at the site recorded a rise from around 3 feet to 8.4 feet. Flooding occurs when the stage reaches 6 feet. A rapid decrease in water levels was noted on the morning of the 31st. Calls to Emergency Management officials reported no damage.

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 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in Pennsylvania, January 2001

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: 5231033.