Recapping Saturday's Soaker

Nearly two inches of rain in just two hours is never a good thing and for the Schuylkill Expressway last night the heavy rain and thunder that rocked through the region provided a muddy mess for those traveling east towards Center City.   Saturday's soaking ended up bringing 3.11" of rain to Philadelphia, breaking a 25 year old daily record of 2.43" by a good bit.  The region ended up with between one and three inches of rain, heaviest along I-95 and also along I-81 across Central into Northeastern Pennsylvania, with Mount Pocono picking up over three and a half inches of rain yesterday.

The storm started around midday with the first wave of steady rain but the worst of the storm occurred in two shots, first between 6 and 9 PM in Philadelphia that brought two inches of rain in just three hours' time, accompanied by occasional cracks of lightning and strong gusty winds from the southeast ahead of the frontal boundary.   This wave set up the mudslide along the Schuylkill, which occurred towards 9 PM last night.

Rain tracked from south-southwest to north-northeast along the front as it moved east.   This training of moisture helped exacerbate rainfall totals since there was a slower eastward component than a northward component, given the strong amount of moisture riding north along the front.   Low pressure tracking along the front aided in enhancing the rain in and around Philadelphia.

The last wave of rain and thunder came through around 11 PM with the front itself, once again flaring up with more rain and thunderstorms as it slipped east and adding another quarter to half an inch of rain as it hit the immediate area.

Saturday's heavy rains and strong southeast winds helped cause tidal flooding in Delaware Bay and along the Delaware River, with the Delaware River seeing the worst tidal flooding since November 1950.