Heavy Rain in Pennsylvania, March 29 to 30, 2001

Name: Heavy Rain in Pennsylvania, March 29 to 30, 2001
Start: 2001-03-29T14:00
End: 2001-03-30T15:00
Location: Pennsylvania

March 29 to 30, 2001 · NWS PHI · 6 events in 6 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 6 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: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 6

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.

Heavy rain fell across Berks County and Southeast Pennsylvania on the 29th and 30th. The rain caused urban and poor drainage flooding and significant, but mainly within bankfull rises on creeks and streams. Light rain began falling during the afternoon of the 29th and fell heavy at times during the late evening of the 29th and the morning of the 30th. The rain ending during the afternoon of the 30th. Storm totals averaged around 2 inches. The Manatawny Creek in Pottstown crested at 4.56 feet at 10 a.m. EST on the 30th. Its flood stage is estimated at 4.5 feet. The East Branch of the Brandywine Creek at Downingtown came with 0.06 feet of its 7 foot flood stage at 830 a.m EST on the 30th. Specific storm totals included 3.00 inches in Wynnewood (Montgomery County), 2.31 inches in Neshaminy Falls (Bucks County), 2.30 inches in Springfield (Delaware County), 2.23 inches at the Franklin Institute within Philadelphia, 2.17 inches in Chadds Ford (Delaware County), 2.10 inches in Downingtown (Chester County), 1.99 inches in West Chester (Chester County), 1.90 inches in Palm (Montgomery County), 1.89 inches in Southampton (Bucks County), 1.87 inches in Glenmoore (Chester County), 1.85 inches in Doylestown (Bucks County), 1.78 inches in Valley Forge (Montgomery County), 1.72 inches in Doylestown (Bucks County), 1.68 inches in Pottstown (Montgomery County), 1.61 inches in Green Lane (Montgomery County), 1.57 inches in Morgantown (Berks County), 1.53 inches in Berne (Berks County) and 1.40 inches in Reading and Hamburg (Berks County). A low pressure system developed over the Gulf of Mexico the night of the 28th. By the morning of the 29th, it moved northeast into the Florida Panhandle and by the morning of the 30th, it reached the Delmarva Peninsula. The low moved offshore that morning and by the morning of the 31st was located near Nova Scotia.

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 Philadelphia/Mount Holly wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 29, 10:35 AM EST, 3 hours 25 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 29, 10:35 AM EST, 3 hours 25 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOUNT HOLLY NJ
1035 AM EST THU MAR 29 2001

WL ISSUE FLD WATCH AT THIS TIME FOR MUCH OF CWA FOR TNGT AND FRI...
AS ENUF OF 12Z RUN HAS COME IN TO CAUSE US SOME CONCERN RE FLDG.
ONLY AREAS LEFT OUT OF FLD WATCH ARE SRN/CNTRL DE AND MOST OF NERN
MD SHORE. WITH MODEL QPF AMTS BTWN 1 AND 2 INCHES...AND CLOSE TO 2
INCHES EVEN ON NEW ETA FOUS...RFC PROJECTIONS ARE FOR AT LEAST MINOR
FLDG IN PARTS OF PASSAIC/RARITAN BASINS. NGM SHOWS CORE OVER
CNTRL/SRN NJ BY 12Z FRI.

COORD WITH ALL SURROUNDING OFFICES.

SOME OTHER MINOR CHGS TO WIND DIR AND AFTN MAXES...OTHERWISE REST AS
FROM PREVIOUS...

*********************************************************************

LIGHT RAIN WAS UP AS FAR AS RALEIGH AND GREENSBORO AT 200 AM.  IT
LOOKS AS THOUGH THE LEADING EDGE OF THE RAIN WILL BE UP ABOUT AS FAR
AS KUTZTOWN...TRENTON AND SEASIDE HEIGHTS BY ABOUT 100 PM.  TODAY/S
RAIN WILL BE LIGHT FOR THE MOST PART...WITH PERHAPS UP TO A QUARTER
INCH BY EVENING IN SOUTHERN DELAWARE.  IN THE NORTH...IT CONTINUES
TO APPEAR AS THOUGH THE LOWEST LEVEL OF THE ATMOSPHERE WILL BE TOO
WARM TO SUPPORT ANY FROZEN PRECIP...ESPECIALLY WITH THE PRECIP RATES
BEING RELATIVELY LIGHT.

THE SHORT WAVE TROUGH PRESENTLY OVER THE WESTERN GULF OF MEXICO IS
FORECAST TO SWING TO THE NORTHEAST...PASSING OVER OUR REGION EARLY
ON FRIDAY.  THE HEAVIEST PRECIP WILL BE OUT AHEAD OF THAT FEATURE...
AFFECTING US TONIGHT INTO PERHAPS FRIDAY MORNING.  WE/LL SHAVE A
LITTLE OFF OF THE GUIDANCE PRECIP VALUES (IN GENERAL) BEING THAT
THEY SEEM TO BE RUNNING A LITTLE HIGH OF LATE (ALSO A
GENERALIZATION).  WE/LL PLAN ON PRECIP TOTALS (NOON TODAY THROUGH
NOON FRIDAY) OF 3/4 TO 1 INCH AROUND PHL...PERHAPS 1 TO 1 1/4 INCHES
IN SOUTHERN DELAWARE AND EXTREME SOUTHERN NEW JERSEY...AND MAYBE 1/2
INCH UP IN THE POCONOS.  WE WILL NOT ISSUE A FLOOD WATCH AT THIS
TIME SINCE THE HEAVIEST PRECIP SHOULD FALL OVER OUR LESS FLOOD PRONE
COUNTIES.

AFTER THE HEAVY RAIN MOVES OUT OF THE REGION ON FRIDAY MORNING...IT
LOOKS LIKE WE/LL BE LEFT WITH A CHILLY NORTHERLY FLOW ALONG WITH
CLOUDS...OCCASIONAL RAIN AND DRIZZLE FOR THE BALANCE OF FRIDAY.

THE ZONE FORECASTS WILL BE ISSUED AROUND 415.

.PHI...FLOOD WATCH TONIGHT AND FRI FOR PAZ054-055-060>062-067>071-
       NJZ001-007>010-012>026-DEZ001-MDZ008-310000-.
       SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FROM SANDY HOOK NJ TO FENWICK ISLAND DE
       AND FOR LOWER BAY.

IOVINO /

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

6 heavy rain. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Rain, Berks

When: March 29, 2:00 PM EST to March 30, 3:00 PM EST
Where: Berks County, Countywide
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 40.416, -75.926 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Rain, Bucks

When: March 29, 2:00 PM EST to March 30, 3:00 PM EST
Where: Bucks County, Countywide
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 40.337, -75.107 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Rain, Chester

When: March 29, 2:00 PM EST to March 30, 3:00 PM EST
Where: Chester County, Countywide
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 39.973, -75.748 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Rain, Delaware

When: March 29, 2:00 PM EST to March 30, 3:00 PM EST
Where: Delaware County, Countywide
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 39.917, -75.399 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Rain, Montgomery

When: March 29, 2:00 PM EST to March 30, 3:00 PM EST
Where: Montgomery County, Countywide
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 40.211, -75.367 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Rain, Philadelphia

When: March 29, 2:00 PM EST to March 30, 3:00 PM EST
Where: Philadelphia County, Countywide
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 40.008, -75.134 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

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 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings in Pennsylvania, March 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: 5235316, 5235317, 5235318, 5235319, 5235320, 5235321.