Update on Hurricane Ian: How will the storm affect central Pennsylvania?
As Hurricane Ian prepares to make another landfall, this time along the Carolina coast, moisture from the storm is expected to arrive Friday night in south central Pennsylvania, according to the National Weather Service and AccuWeather.com.
And the rain is expected to continue to fall throughout the weekend.
This storm isn't expected to be like other tropical storms that dump heavy rains in the region that can lead to flooding, said Renee Duff, a meteorologist with AccuWeather.com.
It's all because a high pressure system with drier air will help to suppress the rain.
Hurricane Ian projected path
Hurricane Ian made landfall Wednesday in the area of Port Charlotte as a Category 4 hurricane.
The storm crossed the Florida peninsula and into the Atlantic Ocean. Meteorologists predict it will make a second landfall near the Georgia and South Carolina border as either a tropical storm or a Category 1 hurricane.
Over the next several days, several states in the Southeast − Georgia and North and South Carolina − are at risk for flash flooding, the National Hurricane Center says.
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How could Hurricane Ian impact central Pennsylvania?
Residents in south central Pennsylvania should expect a raw, rainy weekend, said Kyle Elliott, director of the Weather Information Center at Millersville University.
Periods of light to moderate rain are expected on Saturday, and temperatures will be in the 50s. With the wind, it will feel more like its in the 40s. Anyone with plans outdoors should dress in layers and have rain gear.
York County could see half an inch or less on the lower end, Elliott said. The area could receive two inches on the high end.
"Any rainfall we get is beneficial," he said, noting that the ground has been dry.
AccuWeather.com predicts half an inch to an inch of rain for the area, Duff said.
Some areas of Pennsylvania, such as State College, are expected to see little if any rainfall from the storm. It is anticipated to have a sharp cutoff, with the Pennsylvania Turnpike likely to be the dividing line.
Remnants of the storm will be slowed in moving north by a high pressure system in New England and a cold front, Elliott wrote in a special weather statement.
"This cold front and large, Canadian high pressure system settling into the Northeast in its wake may ultimately serve as a wall for Ian's rainfall," he wrote. "In other words, rain from Ian can only get so far north before feeling the influence of and being shredded apart by the cooler, drier air across the Northeast."
The area could see a bit of improvement on Sunday with some spotty light rain − or even no precipitation at all, he said.
This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: Hurricane Ian projected path central Pennsylvania impact effects
