Serious flooding still feared

Philadelphia wasn't even seeing big puddles as of early afternoon, but the National Weather Service was still seeing heavy rain ahead, enough to flood low-lying roads at first and rivers into the weekend.

"The heaviest is forecast to occur early tonight occur early tonight as the frontal zone moves in," according to an updated forecast discussion. "An isolated thunderstorm or two can not be ruled out, especially in our southern areas. Rainfall amounts of 2 to 3 inches will be widespread, with up to 4 inches possible, especially from the I-95 corridor north and west. These amounts will produce minor to major flooding on the majority of our waterways."

The Schuylkill could overflow its banks by Friday morning, and, as streams keep feeding the Delaware, it's expected to keep rising into Saturday, overflowing at Riegelsville and New Hope in Bucks County, and at Lambertville and Trenton in New Jersey, according to the service's projections.

At Riegelsville, the Delaware is projected to rise more than 13 feet by Saturday morning - from about 10 feet below flood stage this morning to about four feet above.

In New Jersey, Gov. Christie has declared a state of emergency to mobilize the National Guard and state police, as record flooding is feared in North Jersey, where the Ramapo, Passaic and Raritan Rivers overflowed during last weekend's heavy rain.

Jersey utility PSE&G released tips for dealing with flooded basements, from turning off the gas to heaters and hot waters to calling fire departments to have basements pumped. (See link at right.)

And the Weather Service was repeating the warning, "Most flood deaths occurs in automobiles. Never drive your vehicle into areas where the water covers the roadway. Flood waters are usually deeper than they appear."

A woman drowned in Collegeville in October after being trapped in her car by floodwaters on Stump Hall Road near Kratz Road in Montgomery County.

"Turn around ... don't drown," is the rule of thumb, the service says.

Overnight rain had let up by daybreak, then gave way to steady morning rain that subsided - a lull before the storm.

The biggest threat of damaging comes with any thunderstorms, which could led to downed trees and flight delays at Philadelphia International Airport.

Streams and low-lying roadways are likely to see the first flooding, as heavy rain falls.

Rivers, though, will keep rising as they're being fed by streams and creeks, with some places not expected to crest until Saturday.

Skies are likely to be dry until the middle of next week, giving waterways a chance to recover.

Some useful links:

Forecast: http://go.philly.com/weather.

Traffic: www.philly.com/traffic.

Transit: www.septa.org, www.njtransit.com, www.amtrak.com.

Flights: www.phl.org.