There was a lot of rain in some areas of Western Pennsylvania and West Virginia. This caused rivers and creeks to fill up and overflow. As a result, authorities had to close roads and rescue people who were stuck in flooded streets.
Over a span of 18 hours starting at approximately 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, a band of rain measuring 60 miles wide moved from the easternmost part of Kentucky to the Pittsburgh area and then to Dunkirk, N.Y., which is located on the shore of Lake Erie. During this time, the rain brought between 1.25 to over four inches of rainfall. This information was provided by Lee Hendricks, a meteorologist from the National Weather Service in Pittsburgh.
He said that Washington and Allegheny Counties in Western Pennsylvania received the majority of it. Jonathan DeBor, who is the council president in Oakdale Borough, located in Allegheny County, said that the recent flooding was the most severe they have experienced since the flood caused by Hurricane Ivan in 2004. That flood was considered the worst in the town’s history. He was talking about Hurricane Ivan, which brought heavy rain of up to seven inches to the central parts of the state.
The National Weather Service reported that due to the heavy rain in Western Pennsylvania, the Clarion River was predicted to exceed its flood stage of 13 feet on Friday afternoon. It was expected to reach a peak of 13.5 feet in the evening at Cooksburg, an unincorporated community located on the river’s northern banks.
The National Weather Service has issued a flood warning for the Allegheny River at the C.W. Bill Young Lock and Dam. They predict that there will be minor flooding.
A flood warning has been issued for certain areas in Pennsylvania. This includes parts of northwest, west central, and western Pennsylvania, specifically western Forest, Mercer, Venango, central Armstrong, Butler, Clarion, and Lawrence Counties.
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Forecasters said on Friday evening that the flooding was going to start soon. The warning was in place until Saturday morning. In Pittsburgh, officials were preparing for additional flooding caused by the Ohio River. The river was predicted to reach its highest point around 2 a.m. on Saturday.
“The Ohio River will not have good weather in the next week,” Mr. Hendricks said. The rain stopped on Friday afternoon, and crews were busy cleaning up the damage and trying to reopen the streets. But besides the flood warnings, there was also concern about strong winds.
There were warnings about strong winds in Western Pennsylvania and northeastern West Virginia. The winds could reach speeds of up to 50 miles per hour and might cause trees to fall. The warnings were in effect until Saturday and covered east-central Ohio.
The National Weather Service in Charleston, West Virginia, said that strong winds, along with the rainfall that had built up overnight, would cause “increased flows” in nearby waterways.
Kent Carper, a county commissioner, said in an interview that in Kanawha County, around four inches of rain fell on Thursday and continued into Friday. As a result, the Coal River and other waterways were expected to reach their highest levels on Friday.
According to him, there were up to 100 water rescues in the county, which covers an area of 900 square miles. Some of these rescues were done by swift water teams, while others were done by firefighters who waded through deep water using ropes.
According to him, people who lived in the area either went to the roofs or upper floors of their homes for safety, or climbed up the banks to higher ground.
A woman broke her car window when floodwaters rose around it. She then climbed out onto the top of the vehicle, according to Mr. Carper. According to county figures, there were approximately 800 calls for help related to the weather between 6:30 p.m. and 11 p.m. Out of these, nearly 130 calls were about high water.
The authorities said that in Pittsburgh on Thursday night, emergency workers saved a woman who was stuck in a car surrounded by rising waters on Route 51.
The mayor of Oakdale Borough, Steve Trusnovic, mentioned in an email on Friday that two individuals were rescued from a vehicle stuck in water. Additionally, they provided help to several others who needed to leave their homes and businesses due to flooded streets. According to him, there were no reports of people getting hurt or killed.
In Washington, Pennsylvania, a city with over 13,000 residents located southwest of Pittsburgh, there was heavy rain that caused the city to declare a state of emergency. The mayor, JoJo Burgess, mentioned on Friday that they had to call in a boat from the neighboring Peters Township to help with water rescues.
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