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That it has rained before?

Geron

I am at least 400 miles away from the coast in PA. I started monitoring the rain this morning when the first bands came through. We are already at .8 inches and landfall is still many hours away. The heavy rain is not forecasted yet. The funny thing is the rain totals already projected are 2 to 4. Our government does not have a clue about this. Those numbers over the "entire" state will be higher. I think it will be 6 inches plus in spots.

Do you know Pennsylvania? One of the characteristics is the development in the valleys. Much easier than building in the hills. That is why there are so many bridges per capita. The other unique feature is the number of hills. To get to my Daughter's college I have to ascend more than 2300' on one ridge, called Laurel Ridge (Route 22). I then have to climb another, descend, climb another and descend again into her college town. The interesting part is if you flatten the State of Pennsylvania. The land area is 44,742.70 square miles. Some quick calculations tell me that Pennsylvania will have to drain 81,220,000,000 cubic feet of water in 24 to 48 hours. The rain is going to nail the entire state. Where do you think the water is going to go?

I think the numbers should bring you up short. The towns and cities in Pennsylvania are going to be challenged. The funny thing is the water will keep going. In our case it will be the Ohio. In other cases it will be the eastern watershed. The history of hurricane Agnes is a good benchmark to study. This storm is going to be much worse.

Now that is just Pennsylvania. I didn't mention the two plus feet of snow in wide areas of West Virginia. Heck, I didn't even to touch on the weeks of power outages moving into the pre-winter months.

I think the flooding numbers alone should make people stop and think. A little more imagination would serve many well.

JMTC. YMMV. Why are you so hell bent on suppressing an obvious disaster? One state. One factor. Water. Did I mention we have a state with trees? Did I mention the part of trees down everywhere? Got to clear those first before the power lines can be repaired. Then you have to restock and repair.

Just a few things to think about.