Hanna or not, here she comes
Tropical storm to affect area’s weatherBy Mark Leberfinger, mleberfinger@altoonamirror.com
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Waiting for rain
Tropical Storm Hanna may bring a small amount of rain to our region, starting tonight into Saturday, a National Weather Service meteorologist in State College said Thursday.
The rain may do little to put a dent in the region's rainfall, which is down as much as 3 inches for the last 90 days.
Blair is the only county in the Mirror coverage area that is behind in rainfall for the last 365 days, according to data from the Middle Atlantic River Forecast Center. Blair is 1.1 inches below normal at 37.8 inches.
The greatest question is where Hanna will go after she makes landfall. If the storm track takes her further west, the Altoona area may get more rain. If it goes further east, we may get no rain.
''Altoona should be on the western fringe of the storm. We're forecasting about a quarter-inch of rain,'' weather service meteorologist Bill Gartner said. ''There will be heavier rain the further east you go.''
The rainfall should not have a major impact on area farmers unless it is heavy, said Tom Ford, a Penn State Cooperative Extension agent for commercial horticulture. Heavy rain could cause crop damage.
Any rain may slow farmers who are harvesting silage corn - one of the major food stocks for dairy cattle, Ford said.
Hurricane watches were hoisted Thursday for parts of North and South Carolina.
Hanna could gain hurricane status before it makes landfall later today.
After Hanna passes by, the next chance of rain and thunderstorms is forecast for Monday night into Tuesday.
Currently, there are three tropical systems moving through the Atlantic basin - Hanna, Hurricane Ike and Tropical Storm Josephine.
''It's that time of year,'' Gartner said.
Ike may be the next tropical weather maker to affect Pennsylvania, but it is too early to determine its impact, which is expected by the middle to the end of next week, Gartner said.
Mirror Staff Writer Mark Leberfinger is at 946-7462.