Flash Flood — Wayne, Pennsylvania

2006-06-27 to 2006-06-28 · near Countywide, Wayne, Pennsylvania

Wider weather episode

Tropical moisture continued to stream northward into northeast Pennsylvania ahead of a frontal system which slowly moved westward into the eastern Great Lakes by Tuesday morning the 27th. This tropical moisture developed a batch of heavy showers and thunderstorms across much of eastern Pennsylvania late Monday evening the 26th to Tuesday morning the 27th. By 8 am Tuesday, another 3 to 5 inches of rain fell across Wayne County which caused major flash flooding. Additional rain fell Tuesday afternoon into Wednesday morning as the front moved back east and combined with a low pressure system moving up the eastern seaboard. The additional rainfall brought rainfall totals to between 8 and15 inches in the county. This extreme rainfall over a three day period brought catastrophic flash flooding to many locations in Wayne County, the worst flooding this county has ever seen. Numerous small streams and creeks overflowed their banks, flooding homes, businesses, roads, and bridges. A state of emergency was declared for Wayne County on Tuesday. The flooding lasted from Tuesday around 7 am EDT through 3 pm EDT Wednesday the 28th. Hardest hit areas were Scott, Buckingham, Manchester, Damascus, Preston, and Clinton townships as well as Waymart and Hawley. At least 400 people were evacuated from flood-stricken areas. There were 109 homes and businesses heavily damaged with 6 homes totally destroyed. 50 people were rescued from the flood waters, with 25 bridges destroyed and 15 more heavily damaged. Dozens of roads were flooded. One man was killed by the floodwaters after attempting to cross a flooded roadway in his vehicle. Total damage is estimated at around 50 million dollars in Wayne County.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5519035. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.