After Ida, sunny skies expected going into holiday weekend

Despite remnants of Hurricane Ida dumping almost 6 inches of rain in some parts of the region, sunny skies are mostly expected heading into the Labor Day weekend.

Ida, which was downgraded from a tropical depression as it made its way inland, arrived in Western Pennsylvania Tuesday night into Wednesday morning, with some of the heaviest rainfall recorded throughout the day Wednesday.

Rainfall in the region ranged between 2 to 5 inches, said National Weather Service Meteorologist Alicia Miller. Some areas of the state saw higher rainfall totals, including Jefferson Hills where 5.72 inches of rain was recorded. On average, however, Allegheny and Westmoreland counties received about 3.5 inches of rain.

“There was a band of heavier rain that we were anticipating but it was just a little further north so it was a little more focused over Allegheny and Westmoreland counties,” Miller said. “We thought it’d be a little further south but it was roughly what we were forecasting.”

As the system moved through the region, it brought with it flash flood warnings that spanned most of the area, as well as flooding at communities located along rivers and streams. Several communities declared states of emergencies in the wake of the storm, including Scott, Bridgeville, Millvale and Oakdale.

As debris scattered and flooding escalated throughout Wednesday morning, several roadways were shut down and power outages were reported across the region.

The system moved out of Western Pennsylvania around 2 p.m. Wednesday.

Despite significant rainfall, all river flood warnings were canceled by Thursday morning, Miller said.

By 7 a.m., only two locations — the Conemaugh River at Seward and the Youghiogheny River at Connellsville — remained near the flood stage, according to the National Weather Service. By 5:30 a.m., the Conemaugh at Seward was at 9.8 feet. The river peaked at 14 feet around 7 p.m. Wednesday. Flood stage is 12 feet.

The Yough at Connellsville is currently at 9.5 feet. The river crested at 9.9 feet around 2:30 a.m.

“Most of the rivers have crested and they actually stayed below an action stage in most places,” Miller said. “Despite all of the heavy rain the rivers didn’t really go up nearly as much as we originally anticipated.”

Throughout the day Thursday, highs will remain in the 70s, with parts of Allegheny County reaching 76 degrees and Westmoreland County hovering around 74 degrees.

By the evening, lows will likely be around 50 degrees.

Going into the weekend, a high-pressure system will be in place Saturday, bringing with it dry weather and highs in the mid-70s. A 50% chance of rain moves in Saturday night, with new precipitation amounts predicted to be less than an inch. A 30% chance of rain remains Sunday, but highs will reach about 75 degrees.

By Labor Day, rain will move out of the region, Miller said. The holiday is expected to be mostly sunny with highs in the upper 70s.