Flood Stage

By CLYDE FORD Staff Writer HARPERS FERRY, W.Va. - The Potomac River was expected to crest by this morning right at the flood stage of 18 feet at Harpers Ferry. The Shenandoah River was believed to have crested Friday night at 15 feet, said Jim Wiesmueller, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. The Shenandoah River's flood stage is 13.5 feet. Several roads in low-lying areas along the river bank were closed Friday by the high water, dispatchers said.

charlestown@herald-mail.com CHARLES TOWN, W.Va. - High waters were expected in Jefferson County again today due to continued rainy weather in the region, a county official said Tuesday. Heavy rains fell in the headwaters of the Shenandoah River Monday night and are expected to drive the river to flood stage in Millville, W.Va., this morning, said Jefferson County spokeswoman Barbara Miller. Flood stage in Millville is 13.5 feet, according to Miller, coordinator of Jefferson County Project Impact.

TRI-STATE -- The Potomac River passed flood stage Tuesday in Paw Paw, W.Va., but it is too early to tell whether the levels elsewhere will stay below that stage as more rain hits the area, a weather official said. A frontal system is currently stalled over the region, which is triggering "batches of precipitation," National Weather Service spokesman Calvin Meadows said Tuesday afternoon. The system could dump another 1 1/2 inches of rain on the Washington County area by Thursday afternoon, Meadows said.

Berkeley County emergency officials have recommended the evacuation of people who reside along the Opequon Creek. The National Weather Service has indicated that early Tuesday morning through late Wednesday night major flooding is expected to occur along the Opequon Creek in Berkeley County. All residents living along the creek that could be affected by flooding are urged to evacuate immediately. Local law enforcement and fire services are mobilizing to notify residents. The National Weather Service said at 4 a.m. Tuesday, the creek was at 10.3 feet..

marlob@herald-mail.com Abundant spring rains pushed the Potomac River above flood stage at only one point in the Tri-State area - at Shepherdstown, W.Va. - earlier this week before the river began receding. On Monday morning, the National Weather Service River Forecast division gauges registered 15.5 feet at Shepherdstown, 6 inches above flood stage, said Chris Strong, weather service meteorologist. "At midday Wednesday, the Potomac at Shepherdstown was back down to 8.3 feet," Strong said.

Rain puts waterways close to jumping banks For the second time this month, area rivers and creeks are threatening to jump their banks even though rain was expected to taper off by early this morning. The National Weather Service posted a flood watch Tuesday afternoon for some points on the Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers. Forecasters are expecting scattered showers the rest of the week. But amounts won't be enough to cause any more flooding, said Richard Hitchens, National Weather Service meteorologist.

Both the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers were above flood stage for much of the day Monday near Harpers Ferry, W.Va., as the effects of Saturday's heavy rain continued to be felt across the region. The Potomac River at Harpers Ferry rose above its flood stage of 18 feet at about 11:15 p.m. Sunday, crested at about 7:15 a.m. Monday at about 18.9 feet, and sank back below flood stage at about 4 p.m. Monday, according to U.S. Geological Survey readings reported online by the National Weather Service.

marlob@herald-mail.com Heavy rainfall Thursday may force the Potomac River out of its banks at Shepherdstown, W.Va., early Saturday, forecasters with the National Weather Service in Sterling, Va., said. The river forecast division predicted the river will reach 18.8 feet at 1 a.m. Saturday. Flood stage at Shepherdstown is 15 feet. At 4 p.m. Thursday, the level was at 7.9 feet and rising. Weather observers said parts of the Tri-State area got as much as 31/2 inches of rain over the past two days.

TRI-STATE -- The National Weather Service early Thursday canceled a flood watch that had been in effect in the Tri-State area as rainfall that has soaked the area this week has diminished. Despite heavy rain that was pounding Hagerstown at times Wednesday night, weather forecasters were not expecting waters on the Potomac River to go above flood stage in local towns along the river Thursday or Friday. However, water was starting to cover Md. 63 in the Broadfording area in Washington County and over Big Pool Road near Four Locks in the Clear Spring area as of 9 p.m., according to a 911 dispatcher.

wandaw@herald-mail.com TRI-STATE - Saturday's rainfall brought scattered cases of minor flooding throughout the area, forcing authorities to temporarily close some roads and put out high-water signs to warn motorists, officials throughout the Tri-State said. Flooding is expected in several areas along the Potomac River today and Monday, according to a statement from the National Weather Service. Moderate flooding is forecast along the Potomac at Shepherdstown, W.Va.

About 200 Potomac Edison customers were still without power Thursday afternoon in Washington County as the region continued to deal with the aftereffects of Superstorm Sandy. Water levels of the Conococheague and Antietam creeks in parts of the county continued to recede Thursday morning, according to the National Weather Service's website . The Potomac River also remained below flood stage in the county, the weather service reported. Flood warnings for Washington County issued by the weather service were lifted Wednesday.

Michael Goldberg was stationed at a downed power line along Sulphur Springs Road in Berkeley County to steer motorists out of harm's way caused by Superstorm Sandy on Monday night when the storm's damaging winds struck his family's home. Goldberg was volunteering with the Berkeley County Sheriff's Office Deputy Reserve when his 12-year-old daughter called and told him to come home because there was a tree in their home off Grade Road near Marlowe, W.Va. The tree crashed through the roof about 10 p.m. and landed on his mother's bed, but thankfully she wasn't there because she might have been killed, Goldberg said.

As Superstorm Sandy left the Tri-State area Tuesday, emergency services officials in Franklin County, Pa., are turning their attention to streams and creeks that have reached flood stage. The Conococheague Creek had flooded east of Philadelphia Avenue in Chambersburg, according to Dave Donohue, director of Franklin County Department of Emergency Services. “It's still over its banks in Greene Township,” he said at 3 p.m. “Borough waterways now appear to be reaching capacity, and the potential for flooding is very high,” Chambersburg Borough Manager Jeffrey Stonehill said, saying police and highway personnel will be monitoring the situation for possible evacuations.

A number of county roads were closed by flooding or downed wires or trees late Monday and early Tuesday. By Tuesday afternoon, county officials said all state routes had been reopened, although some county roads remained closed. Water from Antietam Creek spilled across a stretch of Burnside Bridge Road, closing it to traffic at Churchey Road Tuesday Morning. In Sharpsburg, Antietam Creek was at 9.5 feet Tuesday afternoon, according to the Weather Service. Flood stage there is 8 feet.

Berkeley County emergency officials have recommended the evacuation of people who reside along the Opequon Creek. The National Weather Service has indicated that early Tuesday morning through late Wednesday night major flooding is expected to occur along the Opequon Creek in Berkeley County. All residents living along the creek that could be affected by flooding are urged to evacuate immediately. Local law enforcement and fire services are mobilizing to notify residents. The National Weather Service said at 4 a.m. Tuesday, the creek was at 10.3 feet..

Robert Braun was asleep at 1 a.m. Tuesday when he was awakened by someone knocking loudly on his door. Braun's house is on Joe Miller Road along the Opequon Creek where it passes under the bridge separating Jefferson and Berkeley counties on W.Va. 51. “They said they were from Homeland Security and they urgently recommended that I evacuate my house immediately and go to higher ground because the creek was flooding. I told them I was staying; that my house is 60 feet above the creek,” he said.

Flood watches throughout the Tri-State area were lifted overnight following several days of rain associated with Tropical Storm Lee. In Hagerstown, less than a half inch of rain fell Thursday and another 0.18 inch through early Friday afternoon, according to weather watcher Greg Keefer's site i4weather.net, bringing the total to 3.63 inches since Monday. Flash-flood watches for Washington County, Franklin County, Pa., and Berkeley and Jefferson counties in West Virginia were lifted overnight, according to the National Weather Service.

A flash flood watch is in effect until late Thursday night in Washington County and the Eastern Panhandle counties of Morgan, Berkeley and Jefferson in West Virginia, the National Weather Service announced Thursday morning as an additional inch or more of rain was expected Thursday. Franklin County, Pa., was under a flood watch through 8 p.m., the weather service said. A flood watch for Fulton County, Pa., was canceled. The Potomac River is no longer expected to overflow its banks in the Tri-State area, despite projections Tuesday that it would rise to major flood stages in some areas of Washington County.

Flood warnings were lifted Friday morning for Washington County, Md., and Jefferson County, W.Va., a day after the Potomac River overflowed its banks following recent heavy rains. A National Weather Service hazardous weather outlook posted Friday afternoon said the region could expect minor flooding along the Potomac River into Friday evening, but nothing more for several days. Flooding was reported Thursday at several locations along the river. According to the National Weather Service, river readings along the Potomac on Friday were (with flood stage in parentheses)