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There was intermittent hard rain Wednesday from Tropical Depression Fred that raised creeks and turned them frothy brown in the Altoona area, but without apparently causing damage in the typical locations vulnerable to flooding around the city.
Runoff from a hill, however, collapsed the front foundation wall of a house
in Williamsburg.
The rain in the area and around the state resulted from the "residual moisture" of Tropical Storm Fred, which made landfall from the Gulf of Mexico on Monday over the Florida panhandle, then rode over the Appalachians and into our region, according to Accuweather meteorologist Max Gawryla.
Fred deposited a little over two inches of rain in 40 minutes between noon and 1 p.m. at the Altoona-Blair County Airport in Martinsburg, Gawryla said.
"Pretty substantial," he said.
In the 24 hours ending mid-evening Wednesday, 3.68 inches fell on Altoona, according to Gawryla.
The foundation-wall cave-in rendered the Williamsburg house uninhabitable, leading to a call to the Red Cross to assist the couple who lived there, according to Blair County Emergency Management Director Mark Taylor.
The couple and their pets got out safely, Taylor said, adding that the Red Cross can help them obtain shelter in a hotel.
An engineer will need to evaluate the house on West First Street to determine whether it makes sense to repair it, Taylor said. He's not sure whether the family has insurance.
The runoff that caused the damage did not come from the overflowing of an actual stream, according to Sgt. Adam Hauser of the Williamsburg police department.
The downpour created other surges in Williamsburg, including one that swelled the "race" that flows into the Frankstown Branch of the Juniata River at Spring Street, Hauser said.
There were also road washouts in the Williamsburg area, Taylor said.
On Route 22 west of Williamsburg, water gushing from an opening in an old road cut ran across the roadway, forcing cars to drive slowly.
Water was also running across Juniata Valley Road near Reese.
Taylor's staff met Wednesday with officials from the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency, emergency management staff in the municipalities were providing regular situation reports and the county's Water Rescue Team remained on standby, Taylor said.
By mid-evening Wednesday, the storm had moved off to the east, with heavy rains occurring then between York and Scranton, Gawryla said.
While there could be lingering showers today in our area, Gawryla said, they will not likely be so intense as to cause concern under normal conditions, but they could be problematic in areas where the ground is saturated.
There were tornado warnings for the region Wednesday, but no reports of actual twisters touching down, Gawryla said.
Mirror Staff Writer William Kibler is at 814-949-7038.