PerspectiveWorst Rainfall in 150 Years Damages Pennsylvania Homes, Roads

Published 31 July 2019

According to the 150 years of data used by the National Weather Service, 2018 was the wettest year in the Berks region of Pennsylvania, with 68.08 inches of precipitation measured at Reading Regional Airport. This year is ahead of last year’s pace, with 38.21 inches already, far above the normal rate of 24.18 inches. Records for the wettest 12-month period are being set each month, according to the weather service. Some municipal officials say their infrastructure and stormwater management systems can’t handle the amount of rain we’re now receiving, and they are trying to figure out what type of improvements they can afford.

According to the 150 years of data used by the National Weather Service, 2018 was the wettest year in the Berks region of Pennsylvania, with 68.08 inches of precipitation measured at Reading Regional Airport.

This year is ahead of last year’s pace, with 38.21 inches already, far above the normal rate of 24.18 inches. Records for the wettest 12-month period are being set each month, according to the weather service.

With groundwater totals and waterways so high, the continued storms are having a cumulative effect, overflowing streams, damaging properties and putting lives at risk.

Mike Urban writes in the Reading Eagle that Municipalities throughout Berks have gotten hammered, with flooded basements and blocked roads increasingly common.

In December, a federal report called the National Climate Assessment warned about climate change and its disastrous impact on the United States. Among its predictions were that the Northeast would have more intense rain events and inland flooding, along with extreme temperatures, and it said some of those changes have already begun.

Some municipal officials say their infrastructure and stormwater management systems can’t handle the amount of rain we’re now receiving, and they are trying to figure out what type of improvements they can afford.