Flood, Lancaster
- When
- September 23, 3:45 PM EST to September 24, 12:00 AM EST
- Where
- Lancaster forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
- Coordinates
- 40.042, -76.248 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flood in Pennsylvania, September 23 to 24, 2003
0 feet. 6 feet at 19:30 EST, then fell back below flood stage at 00:00 EST on the 24th.
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
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 CTP wrote it up.
Heavy rainfall caused the Conestoga River at Lancaster to exceed its flood stage of 11.0 feet. The creek exceeded flood stage at 15:45 EST on Tuesday, September 23rd, crested at 12.6 feet at 19:30 EST, then fell back below flood stage at 00:00 EST on the 24th.
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 Sep 23, 2:00 PM EST, 1 hour 45 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Sep 23, 2:00 PM EST, 1 hour 45 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA 3 PM EDT TUE SEP 23 2003 SCT CONVECTION FIRED UNDER THE UNSTABLE CYCL FLOW ALOFT HAS BEEN CHARGING ACROSS THE CWA...GIVING A GUSTY RW/TRW TO A FEW LOCATIONS. ACTIVITY SHUD SEE A STRONG DIURNAL FADE AFTER SUN GOES DOWN...LEADING TO CLR-SCT SKIES BY LATE EVENING. MAY SEE SOME PATCHY FOG IN SOME OF THE VALLEYS AS WINDS GO LIGHT AND RAD COOLING KICKS IN. PATTERN STAYS ACTIVE WITH TROF TRYING TO ESTABLISH OVER THE GR LAKES. WE SEE HIGH PRES DOMINATE UNTIL NEXT FRONT IS DRAGGED OUR WAY BY THU...WITH A SECOND EVEN MORE IMPRESSIVE SYSTEM GENERATED BY THE GFS FOR SUNDAY. WITH REGIONAL WATERWAYS RUNNING QUITE HIGH AND FLOODING OCCURRING IN A FEW SPOTS...ANY RAIN OF SIGNIFICANCE WILL BE UNWELCOME. && .CTP FLOOD WARNING FOR THE CONESTOGA RIVER AT LANCASTER. NO COUNTY WARNINGS OR ADVISORIES IN EFFECT. && JL
Hazardous weather outlook, Sep 23, 3:13 AM EST, 12 hours 32 minutes before
PAZ004>006-010>012-017>019-024>028-033>037-041-042-045-046-049>053- 056>059-063>066-231000- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA 413 AM EDT TUE SEP 23 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA. .DAY ONE...TODAY HEAVY RAIN WILL MOVE EAST OF CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA THIS MORNING...BUT NOT BEFORE SOME FLOODING HAPPENS. RAINFALL OF 1 TO 3 INCHES IN SPOTS OVERNIGHT WILL KEEP MINOR FLOODING GOING THIS MORNING IN THE MIDDLE AND LOWER SUSQUEHANNA RIVER BASINS. A FEW LOCAL AREAS WILL SEE MODERATE FLOODING. THE FLOODING THREAT WILL LESSEN AFTER THE EARLY MORNING...AS THE RAINS WILL END AROUND SUNRISE. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTERS ARE ASKED TO CALL WITH RAINFALL REPORTS OF AN INCH OR MORE. DANGELO
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
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
- Tornado in Pennsylvania, September 23, 2003
- Tornado in New Jersey, September 23, 2003
- Tornado in New Jersey, September 23, 2003
- Tornado in New Jersey, September 23, 2003
- Damaging Wind in New Jersey, September 23, 2003
- Damaging Wind in Pennsylvania, September 23, 2003
- Flash Flooding and Flooding in Virginia, September 23 to 24, 2003
- Tornadoes and Damaging Winds in Virginia, September 23, 2003
- Flash Flooding and Damaging Wind in North Carolina, September 23, 2003
- Flash Flooding and Damaging Wind in Massachusetts, September 23, 2003
- Flash Flood and Damaging Wind in New York, September 23, 2003
- High Wind in Alaska, September 23 to 24, 2003
More
Every storm in Pennsylvania in 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings in Pennsylvania, September 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 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5337424.