PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A severe storm brings heavy rain and fierce winds to the Philadelphia region and South Jersey on Tuesday. Officials have been warning residents to be prepared for flooding and power outages.
The National Weather Service in Mount Holly says the worst conditions will be from 8 p.m. Tuesday into the small hours of Wednesday morning. NWS is predicting as much as 4 inches of rain in some areas.
A few inches of rain, when the ground is already saturated from last weekend's storm is not good news for areas prone to flooding. Much of the KYW listening area is under a flood watch until 6 p.m. Wednesday. And in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, a flood warning is in effect until late Wednesday.
Live updates from National Weather Service
A state of emergency went into effect in New Jersey at 5 p.m.
As of 9 p.m. Tuesday, PECO reported more than 1,100 outages, affecting more than 104,000 customers; Atlantic City Electric reported more than 600 active outages, affecting nearly 25,000 customers.
The storm is also affecting a number of school districts in the region, where officials have opted for a delayed start to the school day.
And with high tide expected after midnight, there was much more in store Tuesday night.
Heavy rain wasn't the only concern. The NWS expected wind gusts of 45 mph to 60 mph — and as high as 65 mph at the Jersey Shore. Residents were advised to secure loose items around their homes. Strong wind carried tree branches, trash cans, furniture and all manner of debris onto roads in South Jersey on Tuesday night.
"We're worried about trees coming down and drivers driving around barricades driving into flood water," said Dan Schaefer, emergency management coordinator for Upper Providence and Trappe Borough in Pennsylvania.
In a preemptive move, SEPTA limited service on the Paoli/Thorndale Line on Tuesday, running only between Malvern and Center City. Amtrak told SEPTA that there could be service outages west of Malvern due to flooding, so transit officials did not want people to take the train into Philadelphia in the morning and not be able to get home in the afternoon and evening when the weather worsens.
In South Jersey, PATCO said it's business as usual, but passengers should be aware that trains may run a little slower than normal because of the weather.
Avoid flooded roads
Officials are keeping their eyes on flood conditions in coastal areas, like the Jersey Shore, and in low-lying areas near rivers and creeks, which can also become dangerous. Officials in Pennsylvania and New Jersey are urging people not to drive through flooded streets.
Officials are advising people to stay off the road. Camden County spokesman Dan Keashen says first responders made an early water rescue Tuesday at the Brooklawn Circle, where he said a car was trapped under the overpass.
He says rescue crews are ready to go in case they are needed.
"This is really an all-hands-on-deck type of storm. We’ve put a number of teams out into the field for swift water rescue. We’re coordinating with local OEM managers in each of our municipalities, especially some of the more problematic areas in the county.”
Those would be the neighborhoods and towns that border the Delaware River and its tributaries.
"We want to ensure the health and welfare and the safety of our residents. The best way we can do that tonight is to make sure they stay off the roads, if they can, and to stay home," said N.J. Gov. Phil Murphy on Tuesday.
In Bucks County, Pennsylvania, Brissa Cologne of Langhorne says a lot of towns are prone to flooding.
“The road gets really bad, and the parking lots around here get really flooded, and some people don't slow down when they're driving. So a lot of hydroplaning and stuff goes on,” she said.
Last year, seven people, including two children were swept up and killed in a flash flood along Washington Crossing Road in Bucks County.
“It only takes a little bit of water, just inches, to lift your car off the road and throw it into a ravine,” said Washington Crossing resident David Christian. “We lost human beings as a result. So it's a heartbreak.”
Delaware County officials said they were taking precautions for areas that are historically known to flood, including putting extra EMS workers on duty and deploying rescue boats.
John Barnshaw, an officer with Collegeville Borough Police Department, in Montgomery County, urges drivers to be careful — "take your time and don't go around the barricades." Road closures and barricades are set up for a reason — not only for the safety of motorists, but also for the safety of first responders who get called out for rescues.
On top of that, Barnshaw says, drivers can be fined for driving around a barricade.
River surge
The Schuylkill River is expected to hit flood stage Tuesday.
“Upper Providence Township is surrounded by the Perkiomen Creek and the Schuylkill River,” said Upper Providence and Trappe Borough Emergency Management coordinator Dan Schaefer. "Anytime we get a lot of rain, both of those rivers flood."
Rivers and creeks don’t always reach their highest levels during the height of rainfall, says Jeff Wentworth with Collegeville Borough Emergency Management. Even after the rain, those waterways could still flood, depending on what is happening upstream.
“And they're supposed to get heavier rain upstream, from what the radars are indicating," Wentworth said. "That's all going to contribute to the rising of the Perkiomen Creek, which then dumps into the Schuylkill River.”
Last month when the Schuylkill flooded, a stretch of Kelly Drive by the Falls Bridge had to close for some time. Even after the water receded, there was too much mud and debris to reopen the road right away.
Barnshaw with the Collegeville police says drivers need to maintain heightened awareness of their surroundings, especially in the evening: “When it gets dark out, people aren't able to see the streams, the creeks that are coming up alongside the roadways."
Businesses in Manayunk have been preparing for possible flooding, though it’s nothing new for many of them.
“The only thing we can do is do the same thing we always do, which is just keep everything off the floor and hope for the best,” said Greg Gillin, owner of Greg’s Kitchen on Main Street.
Many Main Street businesses, including Greg’s Kitchen, took on several feet of water during Hurricane Ida in 2021 and had to close for months.
“Other than that, you just wait and see,” said Gillin, “and hopefully it’s not too much for the river to hold and it recedes in a timely manner. But you never can tell, so hopefully everybody fares well with the rain.”