Flooding avoided in Connellsville
Connellsville area residents let out collective sigh of relief Thursday when flooding predictions for the Youghiogheny River didn’t come to pass.
“We were a couple of feet below flood stage,” said city Mayor Greg Lincoln on Thursday. “I’m very happy.”
Following rainfall from Hurricane Ida coming into the area, Lincoln, city officials and other first responders met Tuesday night to plan for any potential flooding.
“It felt like deja vu, all of us sitting at city hall, talking about flooding,” he said.
Five years ago, a storm suddenly dumped over five inches of rain within two hours, causing extensive flooding in and around the city and over $7 million in property damage.
Although the rain levels on Wednesday were lighter than first reported, the National Weather Service predicted that rain water running down from the mountains would cause the Yough to crest at 14.8 feet by 8 a.m. Thursday, causing minor flooding.
It never hit that height, however.
Lincoln said, by 11 a.m., the water was down to 8 feet and then was down to 6.7 feet by 3:30 p.m.
“We were very fortunate,” Lincoln said.