Listen to article \u2022\u00a00:00 min<\/p>\n
With over a half-foot of rain measured already, what has been Philadelphia\u2019s wettest month since March 2024 is very likely to become significantly wetter.<\/p>\n
The National Weather Service has posted a flash flood watch<\/a> effective from 8 a.m. Tuesday until 2 p.m. Wednesday for rain totals up to 4 inches, with downpours of 1 to 2 inches an hour possible.<\/p>\n Some appetizers \u2014 localized downpours \u2014 popped up Monday afternoon, prompting flood warnings for Philly and neighboring sections of Montgomery County<\/a>, and parts of Gloucester and Atlantic Counties in New Jersey.<\/p>\n Floodwaters swamped downtown Hammonton, Atlantic County, with \u201cnumerous\u201d cars stranded on the roads, the weather service reported. The Pennypack Creek in Northeast Philly crested above \u201cminor\u201d flood stage.<\/p>\n Moth-ball-size hail pelted Chestnut Hill<\/a>, and hail twice that size was sighted in Williamstown, Gloucester County<\/a>, and in the vicinity of Washington Crossing State Park on the Jersey side of the Delaware River.<\/p>\n Storm coverage on Tuesday is expected to be far more extensive, and potentially more disruptive, with a \u201cfew tornadoes\u201d possible, the weather service warned.<\/p>\n Storm activity is likely to linger into Wednesday, said Mike Lee, meteorologist in the weather service\u2019s Mount Holly office, with more showers in the forecasts for Thursday. <\/p>\n What time the storms will arrive in Philly<\/p>\n Late July still is very much the lottery-ball season<\/a> for damaging downpours, and that again likely will be very much in evidence this week. Rainfall totals in the last 30 days have ranged from 137% of normal in Gloucester County to 79% of normal in Montgomery County, according to the Middle Atlantic River Forecast Center. <\/p>\n Thunderstorms are possible as early as midmorning, but expect \u201crepeated rounds\u201d during the afternoon, said Matt Benz, senior meteorologist with AccuWeather Inc. <\/p>\n The highest probability for severe storms, those with wind gusts near 60 mph, would be in South Jersey and Delaware, although they could nose into Philly, said the weather service\u2019s Lee. <\/p>\n The storms could continue well into the night, and additional rains are expected Wednesday afternoon. <\/p>\n The rain totals again are likely to vary widely; however, a general 1 to 2 inches is expected across the region.<\/p>\n Whatever happened to the drought?<\/p>\n It hasn\u2019t gone anywhere \u2014 yet.<\/p>\n All of New Jersey<\/a> and Chester County<\/a> remain under state-declared drought warnings. In the latest interagency U.S. Drought Monitor update, conditions in the entire region remain from \u201cabnormally dry\u201d to severe drought. <\/p>\n All that may change by week\u2019s end. <\/p>\n