A low-pressure system that formed in the Ohio Valley today will strengthen as it moves east, going up the eastern spine of the Appalachians and reaching Pennsylvania by Thursday. Moderate to heavy rain is possible at times, with gusts up to 35 MPH anticipated.
We recently announced that Halloween Eve would most certainly be rained out, and many people were startled to learn that some regions do trick-or-treat on days other than Halloween. This is particularly evident when Halloween falls on a Friday or Saturday.
Hopefully, places that had trick-or-treating planned for Thursday followed our instructions. The outlook for Thursday evening isn’t much better, and the lawns will be extremely soggy/muddy. Aside from some light showers in Southern Pennsylvania after sunset, the few trick-or-treating spots scheduled for this evening should be fine.
Rain will begin late tonight and continue into early Thursday morning. Light rain will transition to heavy rain with heavier patches across Southern Pennsylvania by 2:00 a.m. Thursday, as illustrated below.
The Thursday morning commute looks quite soggy across the state. This model has some dry areas in Eastern Pennsylvania, but most other forecasts predict a slug of moderate rain Thursday morning.
By early Thursday afternoon, rain will become more intermittent across western Pennsylvania. By the middle of the afternoon, heavy rain will begin to subside in Eastern Pennsylvania. The upcoming radar for Thursday at 1:00 PM is shown below.
Finally, as the low pressure lifts to the northeast, scattered showers will persist across Northern and Eastern Pennsylvania by dinnertime Thursday.
Important Points: Wet leaves on roadways can cause your car to spin out. Also, drainage may be clogged by fallen leaves.
Area A: Rainfall accumulation of 1.5 – 2.0″ expected. Localized flooding in areas with poor drainage possible. Winds may blow some leaves off the trees as many of these locations hit peak Fall foliage.
Area B: Rainfall accumulation of 1.0 – 1.5″ anticipated. Localized flooding possible in usual areas with poor drainage.
Area C: Rainfall accumulation of 0.5 – 1.0″ expected.
Trick-or-treat looks good for Friday evening aside from some sprinkles in Western and Northern PA. Temperatures will be in the upper 30s to mid 40s so definitely have multiple layers on!
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