Heavy rain floods, strands motorists
More than 2 inches of heavy, steady rain and clogged storm drains Monday afternoon combined to flood roads, forcing motorists to abandon submerged cars around the Lehigh Valley.
About 2.7 inches of raifalln was measured at Lehigh Valley International Airport by 5 p.m., about half an hour after the rain stopped.
The Lehigh Valley’s weather was part of a larger system of gale-force winds lashing much of the northeastern U.S., prompting flash-flood warnings and tornado warnings in southeast Pennsylvania and New Jersey, according to the National Weather Service.
Firefighters and street crews spent the afternoon and evening on standby, watching for
flooded roads.
Rescue workers were called to Weaversville Road in Hanover Township, Northampton County, just before 1:30 p.m. for a report of a car with two occupants stuck in deep water. Dispatchers reported that the water had risen to 4 feet near the scene.
“We’ve seen flooding in the usual low-lying areas like Mack Boulevard, Sumner Avenue and Basin Street,” said Allentown fire Capt. John Christopher, adding that firefighters had to escort people from a vehicle submerged in thigh-high water about 1 p.m. on Mack Boulevard near Trout Creek Lane.
“The problem we always run into is people trying to drive through standing water and getting stuck,” Christopher said. “We always advise people never to do that and never to try walking through deep water. You don’t know what’s under that water. We’ve had manhole covers dislodged by flooding.”
Flooded roads also were reported near South Mall in Emmaus and Cedar Crest Boulevard at Hamilton Boulevard in South Whitehall Township, and elsewhere around the region. No injuries were reported.
In addition to stranding motorists, the heavy downpour flooded basements.
Spaulding Decon, a Philadelphia-area company that does basement flooding remediation throughout eastern Pennsylvania, received three service requests as of 4 p.m., company owner Jonathan Smolowe said. Two were from Philadelphia and the third was from Macungie.
“We’ve hit a saturation point from the hurricane we had several months ago,” Smolowe said. “We’ve had people say they’ve been there 40 years with dry basements and now they have 3 feet of water or 2 inches of water. When these rains come, people get hit.”
PPL and Met-Ed reported scattered power outages, mostly in Northampton County.
Tuesday could bring more rain. The National Weather Service forecast calls for a 30% chance of showers 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Less than a 10th of an inch is possible
Wednesday and Thursday are expected to be clear but cold, with highs in the 40s and lows of 29 Wednesday night and 31 Thursday night.
Friday will being another 30% chance of rain before 1 p.m. The week could end with a 40% chance of rain mixed with snow, with highs continuing in the 40s.