Flash Flood — Crawford, Pennsylvania

2003-07-21 · near Countywide, Crawford, Pennsylvania

Event narrative

Heavy rain began falling during the morning hours and continued into the afternoon. Rainfall rates exceeded two inches per hour during the early afternoon hours. Spotters reported 2.5 inches of rain in Saegertown between 1:00 and 2:30 p.m. and 2.2 inches of rain in Titusville between 2 and 3 p.m. Total rainfall amounts through late afternoon generally ranged from 2 to 4 inches in Crawford County. Rapid rises of streams and creeks occurred as the ground was already saturated from persistent rains earlier in the month. Devastating flooding occurred in Cochranton, Titusville, Meadville and Saegertown. A bridge just outside of Cochranton on State Route 285 washed out around 2 p.m. Three cars were swept off of the bridge and into French Creek. One person drown, but emergency personnel were able to rescue the occupants of the other vehicles. Dozens of homes and businesses were damaged in Cochranton and many people were evacuated. In Titusville, Church Run a tributary of Oil Creek left it's bank. Residents on North Franklin and West Mount Vernon Streets were evacuated from their homes. Dozens of homes and businesses were damaged in the town. Widespread street and lowland flooding occurred elsewhere in the county with water is some areas up to 5 feet deep. Many roads and culverts were washed out and over 50 people were rescued from their homes and vehicles.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5376037. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.