Soaked Philadelphia region in bad position for Irene’s rain

Rain, rain, go away.  

This very wet month of August is going to add to our hurricane woes. 

Even before the threat of Irene, August was shaping up to be the wettest month in Philadelphia in 12 years.

Tom Thunstrom, founder of Philly Weather.net and weather blogger for NewsWorks.org, says there is nowhere for more water to go. 

“The ground is saturated and really can’t take any more rain on,” said Thunstrom. “So, when you’re looking at five to 10 inches of rainfall falling in the region, you’re going to have flooding concerns.”

Thunstrom says too much water in the soil reduces a tree’s anchoring and makes it more vulnerable in a storm. 

“That makes the situation that much more critical in terms of potential loss of trees and potential power outages because it doesn’t take as strong a wind to knock over a susceptible tree,” said Thunstrom. 

So far this month, the Philadelphia area has received 13 inches of rain, and another six to ten inches are expected before Monday.