Rain, rain, won't go away; might tie a record any day

While the graying of Philadelphia continues, you may be relieved to know that the weather almost certainly will brighten before the economy.

"Starting Sunday and into next week, the weather is looking phenomenally good," said Bob Stauber, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Mount Holly. "I mean, great spring weather."

In the meantime, a flood watch remains in effect until 5 p.m., the result of overnight rains that came down hard in some places, and the threat of thunderstorms this afternoon.

This marks the ninth consecutive day of measurable rain in Philadelphia, and with showers in the forecast tomorrow and Saturday, we have a shot at tying the Spring record of 11 straight rainy days set in May 1894 and again in 1950, when another such streak ended on May 3.

So far PECO hasn't had significant power issues due to rain relate problems, but spokesman Michael Wood said that situation could change during the next few days.

All that said, it appears that any threat of major flooding has ebbed away, although the weather service did hoist flood warnings this morning for the first time in eight months as some small streams sloshed over.

The Schuylkill and Delaware Rivers have stayed well below flood stages, however. At midmorning, the Delaware at Trenton was reported at 9.6 feet; flood stage is 20. The Schuylkill at Norristown was at 9.05 feet; flood stage is 17.

Generally, 1 to 1.5 inches fell overnight, with one outlier report of 1.93 inches in Hunterdon County.

Showers and thunderstorms are possible tomorrow and Saturday, and the prolonged rains are raising concerns at PECO.

About 1,600 customers have lost power since last night, Wood said, adding that "will probably increase in the next few days." The ground is saturated, which makes trees more susceptible to toppling and taking power lines with them. In addition, groundwater may threaten underground cables, and the rains are weakening utility-pole cross-arms.

By early next week the rain will shut off and daytime temperatures will be in the 70s. It will be a tad on the humid side, Stauber said, and that may slow the drying out process in all that overgrown grass.

But here's a word of warning: Once it does dry out, your neighborhood might sound like a NASCAR Sunday as folks catch up with the mowing.