After the rainiest day since mid-August, it appears that the atmosphere won’t be handing out any Halloween treats Friday.
Gusts of 35 to 40 mph were common Thursday during a storm that caused considerable road flooding before coming to a surprisingly abrupt end. A death possibly related to the weather was reported in Philadelphia.
Friday should be dry, but the winds will be “even stronger,” said Zachary Cooper, meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Mount Holly.
The agency has the entire region under a wind advisory, with gusts to 50 mph possible.
And it appears that, while not as ferocious, gusts will persist during the peak candy-solicitation period, forecasters said.
Scattered power outages are possible, and the winds could cause some issues for SEPTA commuters, especially on Regional Rail lines that are susceptible to fallen trees.
“We have our tree-removal contractors on alert,” SEPTA spokesperson Andrew Busch said.
The storm ended sooner than expected in the Philly region
Flooding occurred on I-95, the Schuylkill Expressway, and I-476, said Pennsylvania Department of Transportation spokesperson Brad Rudolph. The rains resulted in lane restrictions on I-95 South near Route 322 in Delaware County, and on Gulph Road in Upper Merion Township, Montgomery County, where nearly 3 inches of rain was reported.
Philadelphia police reported that a 44-year-old woman was killed when a tree fell upon the car she was driving in the 3700 block of West School House Lane shortly before noon. Further details were unavailable.
An advisory for minor flooding was in effect until 11:59 p.m. Thursday for the Shore and the Delaware River, even as the storm pulled away.
But while the forecasts were on target about the heavy rains and winds, none foresaw that the sun would be fighting for space and the Philly temperature would climb to 70 degrees at 3 p.m. That was around the time of the storm’s expected peak.
What happened? The storm moved northward more quickly than expected, said Bob Larsen, senior meteorologist with AccuWeather Inc.
The temperature shot up because the storm center passed through central Pennsylvania. Winds circulate counterclockwise around storm centers; thus, Philly experienced warm winds from the south.
The precipitation forecasts were decent, as a general 1 to 2 inches fell across the region, a lot of that coming in downpours that occur only in autumn — heavy rain mixed with colorful leaves.
The leaves did clog some storm drains, contributing to widespread road flooding. However, no significant road closures were reported.
Officially, 1.21 inches was measured at Philadelphia International Airport, where a peak gust of 36 mph occurred. Mosf the rain fell on Thursday, marking the daily total since Aug. 17.
It rains also well more than doubled the total for what had been a parched October in which most of the region entered a state of “moderate drought,” according to the interagency U.S. Drought Monitor.
Jersey beaches are getting a break
The Jersey Shore is included in the wind advisory; however, this time these will be land breezes from the west.
For the beaches, at least, that should be a refreshing change from the onshore wind assault that began Wednesday morning, although storm waves from departing Hurricane Melissa will continue to crash on the sands.
The Halloween forecast for the region
Temperatures for trick-or-treaters will be falling through the 50s between 5 and 8 p.m., Larsen said, several degrees below normal, and the winds won’t make it feel any warmer.
Typically, gusts back off as the sun sets, but Larsen doesn’t “think that will happen” on Friday.
He expects steady winds of 15 to 25 mph with gusts to 30 mph “through the first part” of the evening.
That “will be … uncomfortable, and problematic, for some Halloween costumes and trick-or-treaters in general,” Larsen said.
And it wouldn’t be a bad idea to secure some of those Halloween decorations, lest they take flight.
Staff writer Robert Moran contributed to this article.
