Hurricane Isabel is heading toward the east coast of the United States and eventually will impact the weather in central Pennsylvania with the best predictions of late Thursday into Friday.
“We are expecting there to be some problems because of the hurricane,” said Heather Zehr, Accu-Weather meteorologist. “We have had so much rain this year that the ground is pretty saturated. If the storm continues to track as it currently is, we can expect inches of rain between Thursday night and Friday afternoon.”
Isabel is following a similar path that Hurricane Hugo took in September of 1989. Yesterday the winds of Isabel were clocked at 150 mph but this morning the winds were measured at 115 mph.
The National Weather Service office in State College is preparing the area for the possible problems that could arise from Isabel.
“The remnants of Hurricane Isabel are forecast to track through Central Pennsylvania on Friday morning,” the statement from the National Weather Service states. “A swath of heavy rain is expected along and to the west of the storm track. This would place the western half of Pennsylvania under the greatest risk of flooding rain. The rain should overspread central Pennsylvania by late Thursday and the heaviest rain will likely fall Thursday night and into Friday.”
The National Weather Service is closely monitoring the path of Isabel and will issue watches and warnings as it gets closer to the event.
“There is going to be a risk of flooding,” said Peter Young, hydrologist for the National Weather Service. “Right now rivers and streams are running high and we are going to get runoff like we do with any significant thunderstorm. That runoff could cause some problems.”
With the exact path that the hurricane could take still undetermined, the service still can’t make an accurate prediction of what could take place.
“If we get 2-3 inches of rain over a 12 hour period, there is a definitely a risk of minor flooding,” said Young. “Anything over three inches could cause more serious flooding problems.”
With the hurricane, there is more than rain to focus on.
“The wind could become a serious issue,” said Zehr. “With the ground as wet as it is and the leaves still on the trees, there is more of a possibility of trees being toppled from the wind.”
When dangerous weather occurs, Young suggests that people follow the weather service advisories.
“The best thing people can do is keep their eye on the weather information and warnings that are issued,” said Young. “A flood watch means be prepared for the possibility of flooding. A flood warning means to take action that flooding is occurring. If you live near a creek or stream, keep your eye on the levels of the water and take appropriate action when it is necessary.”
