Two floods in two months.

A severe flood warning was issued at 10:30 a.m. Friday in McKean County, marking the second flood warning in two months.
Meteorologist Craig Evanego of the National Weather Service said a persistent and looming cold front is the culprit causing the need for the flood warning, which will be in effect until Sunday evening.

“A week long of abnormally high temperatures was disrupted by a cold front which is normal,” Evanego said. “But this cold front is circling around the area and refuses to leave.”

He further explained that while the cold front isn’t directly above McKean County, it is encircling the area creating atmospheric tensions that make for rain showers.

Flooding also happened earlier in the year, but Evanego said the two situations differ significantly.

“Snow melt and ice jams were the root cause of the flood earlier in the year,” he said. “This time, the problem is consistent rain.”

And that difference is enough to reassure Evanego that the flooding in this case will not be as severe as the flooding earlier in the year.

Officials at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford were not taking chances this time around, as they prepared for the Tunungwant Creek to flood over and onto campus parking lots. On Friday, the university closed off parking lots 9, 10, 12 and 13, which are the lots from Wick Chapel along the creek towards the townhouse dormitories. Students and faculty were made to move their vehicles to lots away from the creek.

High temperatures will be sticking around for the next week, with the average high temperature being near 48 degrees, almost 20 degrees higher than normal for the time of year. Rain showers are expected to be consistent through to Sunday evening and remain high in volume. An inch to two inches of rain are expected today through the night, with another inch to two inches of rain expected through Sunday afternoon. Monday will see the first signs of dry weather with partly sunny skies that will continue on through to Wednesday.