Flash Flood — Dauphin, Pennsylvania

2025-05-06 · near Penbrook, Dauphin, Pennsylvania

Event narrative

Approximately 2.50 of rain in an hour caused flash flooding along North Progress Avenue during the afternoon rush hour, leading to the closure of a lane of traffic due to water across the roadway.

Wider weather episode

Low pressure stationed across the Delmarva during the early morning hours of May 6, 2025 began to lift north and east during the afternoon hours, allowing portions of eastern Pennsylvania to have a brief period of residence time in the warm sector. This residence time allowed for destabilization ahead of a surface cold front, with ample shear in place to allow for a line of showers and thunderstorms to slowly lift north and east through the region during the afternoon and evening hours. Severe thunderstorms associated with the line caused numerous tree damage in the Lower Susquehanna Valley, with a microburst producing a concentrated area of damage west of Orwigsburg consisting of snapped and uprooted trees. Heavy rain continued further north, where already saturated soils allowed for isolated instances of flooding closing roadways in Lycoming and Tioga counties. Heavy rainfall in Dauphin County also caused flash flooding, closing multiple roadways in Harrisburg during rush hour.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (40.2852, -76.8427)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1244326. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.