Flood in Pennsylvania, February 6 to 7, 2004

Name: Flood in Pennsylvania, February 6 to 7, 2004
Start: 2004-02-06T11:54
End: 2004-02-07T10:34
Location: Pennsylvania

February 6 to 7, 2004 · NWS PHI · 1 event in 1 county or zone

The combination of heavy rain and snow melt caused poor drainage and numerous creek flooding in Chester County. Heavier rain fell from the late morning into the middle of the evening on the 6th.

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.

The combination of heavy rain and snow melt caused poor drainage and numerous creek flooding in Chester County. Heavier rain fell from the late morning into the middle of the evening on the 6th. A car was stuck in the flood waters of the Brandywine Creek at the intersection of Pennsylvania State Route 926 and Creek Road in Birmingham Township. Flooding from the Pickering Creek in East Pikeland Township flooded several roads and houses. Flooding was also reported along the Big and Little Elk Creeks and the Octoraro Creek. The West Branch of the Brandywine Creek at Honey Brook was above its 7 foot flood stage from 341 p.m. through 705 p.m. EST on the 6th. It crested at 7.19 feet at 445 p.m. EST. The East Branch of the Brandywine Creek at Downingtown was above its 7 foot flood stage from 142 p.m. EST on the 6th through 1230 a.m. EST on the 7th. It crested at 9.34 feet at 500 p.m. EST on the 6th. The main stem of the Brandywine Creek at Chadds Ford was above its 9 foot flood stage from 316 p.m. EST on the 6th through 1034 a.m. EST on the 7th. It crested at 11.08 feet at 1212 a.m. EST on the 7th. The French Creek at Phoenixville was above its 8 foot flood stage from 253 p.m. through 600 p.m. EST on the 6th. It crested at 8.39 feet at 345 p.m. EST. The Valley Creek at Valley Forge was above its 7 foot flood stage from 1154 a.m. through 518 p.m. EST on the 6th. It crested at 8.01 feet at 2 p.m. EST. Storm totals included 2.04 inches in Honey Brook, 2.03 inches in West Chester, 1.87 inches in Valley Forge, 1.79 inches in Glenmoore and 1.23 inches in Exton. The low pressure system responsible for the heavy rain developed in the western Gulf of Mexico on the 5th. It moved northeast reaching the Tennessee Valley on the evening of the 5th and into the Great Lakes on the morning of the 6th. Its associated warm front moved north from the Carolinas on the morning of the 6th into the lower Delmarva Peninsula during the afternoon of the 6th before stalling. The occluded front associated with the primary low pressure system (It went northeast from the Great Lakes through the Saint Lawrence River Valley) moved through the region during the evening of the 6th and ended the rain. Precipitation initially started as a wintry mix around midnight EST on the 6th and changed over to plain rain during the morning of the 6th.

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 Feb 6, 10:51 AM EST, 1 hour 3 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 6, 10:51 AM EST, 1 hour 3 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOUNT HOLLY NJ
1051 AM EST FRI FEB 6 2004

WE HAVE DROPPED THE ADVISORY FOR THE NEXT TIER NORTH AS TEMPS HAVE
FOR THE MOST PART RISEN ABOVE FREEZING. SOME TEMPS IN THE SERN
PORTION OF THE FIRST TIER WARNING AREA HAVE ALSO RISEN ABOVE
FREEZING, BUT MANY LOCATIONS THERE STILL REMAIN AT THE FREEZING MARK
AND SO WE HAVE NOT TAKEN THEIR WARNING DOWN YET.

OTHERWISE NO CHANGES.

.PHI WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
PA...WINTER STORM WARNING INTO THIS AFTERNOON
      PAZ054-055.
     WINTER STORM WARNING THIS MORNING
      PAZ060>062.
     FLOOD WATCH THIS AFTERNOON INTO SAT PAZ060>062-067>071.
NJ...WINTER STORM WARNING INTO THIS AFTERNOON NJZ001.
     WINTER STORM WARNING THIS MORNING NJZ007.
     FLOOD WATCH THIS AFTERNOON INTO SAT NJZ007>010-012-013-015>019.
DE...FLOOD WATCH THIS AFTERNOON INTO SAT DEZ001.
MD...FLOOD WATCH THIS AFTERNOON INTO SAT MDZ008.
MARINE...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY ON THE OCEAN FRONT FROM SANDY HOOK NJ
     TO FENWICK ISLAND DE AND LOWER DELAWARE BAY. ANZ450>455-431.

MPD

Hazardous weather outlook, Feb 6, 5:25 AM EST, 6 hours 29 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...CORRECTED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOUNT HOLLY NJ
525 AM EST FRI FEB 6 2004

DEZ001>004-MDZ008-012-015-019-020-NJZ001-007>010-012>027-PAZ054-055-
060>062-067>071-061215-
ATLANTIC NJ-ATLANTIC COASTAL CAPE MAY NJ-BERKS PA-BUCKS PA-CAMDEN NJ-
CAPE MAY NJ-CARBON PA-CAROLINE MD-CECIL MD-CHESTER PA-
COASTAL ATLANTIC NJ-COASTAL OCEAN NJ-CUMBERLAND NJ-DELAWARE PA-
DELAWARE BEACHES DE-EASTERN MONMOUTH NJ-GLOUCESTER NJ-HUNTERDON NJ-
INLAND SUSSEX DE-KENT MD-KENT DE-LEHIGH PA-MERCER NJ-MIDDLESEX NJ-
MONROE PA-MONTGOMERY PA-MORRIS NJ-NEW CASTLE DE-NORTHAMPTON PA-
NORTHWESTERN BURLINGTON NJ-OCEAN NJ-PHILADELPHIA PA-QUEEN ANNES MD-
SALEM NJ-SOMERSET NJ-SOUTHEASTERN BURLINGTON NJ-SUSSEX NJ-TALBOT MD-
WARREN NJ-WESTERN MONMOUTH NJ-
525 AM EST FRI FEB 6 2004

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EAST CENTRAL AND
SOUTHEAST PENNSYLVANIA...DELAWARE...THE NORTHERN MARYLAND
EASTERN SHORE...AND NEW JERSEY EXCLUDING THE FIVE NORTHEAST
COUNTIES.

.DAY ONE...TODAY

A WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR THE LEHIGH VALLEY
IN PENNSYLVANIA AND WARREN COUNTY IN NEW JERSEY THIS MORNING...
AND FOR THE SOUTHERN POCONOS IN PENNSYLVANIA AND SUSSEX COUNTY
IN NEW JERSEY INTO THE AFTERNOON. SOUTH OF THE WARNING AREA...
EXCEPT FOR CAPE MAY COUNTY AND COASTAL ZONES IN NEW JERSEY AND
SUSSEX COUNTY IN DELAWARE...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORIES ARE IN
EFFECT THIS MORNING FOR FREEZING RAIN. A FLOOD WATCH REMAINS IN
EFFECT THIS AFTERNOON INTO SATURDAY FOR NORTHERN DELAWARE,
EXTREME NORTHEASTERN MARYLAND, SOUTHEASTERN PENNSYLVANIA, AND
MUCH OF SOUTHWESTERN AND CENTRAL NEW JERSEY.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...

ANOTHER STORM COULD AFFECT THE REGION TUESDAY AFTERNOON INTO
WEDNESDAY.

.SPOTTER CALL TO ACTION STATEMENT...SPOTTERS ARE REQUESTED TO CALL
IN REPORTS OF FREEZING PRECIPITATION AND SNOW AMOUNTS.

RPW

Event by event

1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flood, Chester

When: February 6, 11:54 AM EST to February 7, 10:34 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

Every storm in Pennsylvania in 2004 Every state in 2004 This day in weather history Warnings in Pennsylvania, February 2004

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: 5392825.