Pennsylvania, 2003

Flood in Pennsylvania, October 27 to 28, 2003

October 27 to 28, 2003 · NWS PHI · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Showers and thunderstorms associated with a slow moving cold front produced poor drainage flooding and stream flooding in Chester County. Heavy rain started during the morning and persisted into the early evening.

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 happened

The episode as NWS PHI wrote it up.

Showers and thunderstorms associated with a slow moving cold front produced poor drainage flooding and stream flooding in Chester County. Heavy rain started during the morning and persisted into the early evening. Several cars became trapped in flood waters after driving around barricades. Pennsylvania State Route 926 was closed in Westtown Township. Flooding along the East Branch of the Brandywine Creek in Downingtown inundated park land and closed Green Street. Doppler Radar storm total estimates ranged between 2 and 4 inches. The East Branch of the Brandywine Creek in Downingtown was above its 7 foot flood stage from, 1215 p.m. through 1137 p.m. EST on the 27th. It crested at 9.37 feet at 7 p.m. EST. Farther downstream, the main stem of the Brandywine Creek at Chadds Ford was above its 9 foot flood stage from 606 p.m. EST on the 27th through 737 a.m. EST on the 28th. It crested at 10.13 feet at 127 a.m. EST on the 28th. The Valley Creek at Valley Forge was above its 7 foot flood stage from 306 p.m. through 7 p.m. EST on the 27th. It crested at 7.55 feet at 415 p.m. EST. Storm totals included 3.67 inches in West Chester, 3.54 inches in Glenmoore, 3.43 inches in Exton, 3.25 inches in Avondale, 2.83 inches in Valley Forge, 2.43 inches in Downingtown and 2.39 inches in Honey Brook.

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 Oct 27, 8:47 AM EST, 3 hours 28 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Oct 27, 8:47 AM EST, 3 hours 28 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOUNT HOLLY NJ
847 AM EST MON OCT 27 2003

QUICK UPDATE TO EXPAND FLOOD WATCH AREA TO THE NW...AND TO INCLUDE
PHILLY CTY. ALSO ADJUSTED SVR STATEMENT TO REFLECT LATEST SPC OTLK.

KRAUS
-----------------------------
PREVIOUSLY...

PRODUCTS...INCLUDING SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK AND FLOOD WATCH...HAVE
ALREADY BEEN ISSUED. DYNAMICS...POTENTIAL FOR THERMODYNAMICS...AND
WIND FIELDS HAVE ALREADY BEEN DISCUSSED IN PREVIOUS AFDS.  THERE IS
STILL SUPPORT FROM THE UPPER JET...DIFLUENCE AT MID LEVELS...STRONG
OMEGA PROGGED...A MID LEVEL TROF THAT IS TILTING NEGATIVE ALBEIT AS
IT WEAKENS...A STRONG H8 JET...GOOD SPEED AND DIRECTIONAL SHEAR FROM
THE SFC TO H7...NO CONVECTIVE INHIBITION AND A CHANCE FOR MORE
INSTABILITY THAN IS PROGGED ON THE SFC SRLY FLOW. THE OCEAN IS NOW A
VERY DECENT SOURCE OF LOW LEVEL THETA E. MODELS DO NOT DIFFER TOO
MUCH AND HAVE NOT CHANGED SIGNIFICANTLY SINCE YESTERDAY. SPC KEEPS
MOST OF FA IN SLIGHT RISK...AND THEY MENTION THE POSSIBILITY OF A
FEW SUPERCELLS AND EVEN AN ISOLATED TORNADO. AS NOTED
ABOVE...STATEMENT IS OUT AND ZONES ARE WORDED ACCORDINGLY.

FFG AND FFH VALUES...GIVEN HIGH END OF EXPECTED RAINFALL
AMOUNTS...INDICATE SOME FLOODING OF THE AREAS AND STREAMS MOST PRONE
TO IT IS POSSIBLE...HENCE THE FLOOD WATCH FOR NORTHERN
DELAWARE...THE NORTHERN AND WESTERN SUBURBS OF PHILADELPHIA AND
MERCER COUNTY NJ.

AFTER TODAY...THE GFS IS THE MOST ACTIVE WITH THE BAROCLINIC ZONE
OFF THE COAST...AND EVEN IT DOESNT BRING PCPN INTO FA TUE NIGHT INTO
WED. THEREFORE DIDNT CHANGE THE FORECAST MUCH AFTER TONIGHT...EXCEPT
TO MAKE TUE A BIT MORE OPTIMISTIC.

SCA UP FOR THE BAY AND COAST.

FCSTID = 45

MPO   60  36  50  39 / 100  30  10  40
ABE   65  41  57  42 / 100  30  10  40
RDG   65  42  57  42 / 100  30  10  40
PHL   69  46  59  48 / 100  40   0  30
12N   64  38  56  41 / 100  30  10  40
SMQ   66  40  59  44 / 100  40   0  40
TTN   67  44  59  46 / 100  40   0  40
MIV   69  42  60  45 / 100  60   0  10
ACY   68  46  60  52 / 100  60   0  10
ILG   69  44  59  46 / 100  40   0  30
DOV   72  45  62  48 / 100  60   0  10
GED   72  45  62  47 / 100  60   0  10
ESN   72  45  61  47 / 100  60   0  10

.PHI...FLOOD WATCH TDA DE1, ALL PA ZONES, NJ1,7,15
       SML CRAFT ADVY CST AND DE BAY.

NYY

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Oct 27, 8:40 AM EST, 3 hours 35 minutes before
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Event by event

1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flood, Chester

When
October 27, 12:15 PM EST to October 28, 7:37 AM EST
Where
Chester forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

What these are

Flood
Flooding that develops more slowly than a flash flood: rivers leaving their banks, or water standing over land for an extended time.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Pennsylvania in 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings in Pennsylvania, October 2003

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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5371888.