Susquehanna River not up to flood level in York County

(Undated) — Photos from the Susquehanna Yacht Club in Wrightsville Wednesday show an abundance of debris and high water.

After up to a dozen inches of rain in York County since Saturday, there is no doubt the Susquehanna is swollen. But even adding 12 feet since Sunday, it hasn’t even hit minor flood stage, according to the National Weather Service.

The river isn’t charted in York County, but NWS keeps records in Marietta, Lancaster County, just up the river from Wrightsville.

Minor flood stage at Marietta isn’t hit until the river’s water reaches 49 feet. Moderate flooding kicks in at 52 feet and major flood stage hits at 54 feet.

The NWS said the river was at 46 feet late Wednesday afternoon.

That’s nearly 20 feet below the record high of 64.54 set in 1972 by Agnes. The Great Flood of 1936, which was a combination of melting snow/ice and rain, topped out at 60.73. They are the only floods to top 60 feet at Marietta.

By contrast, the Susquehanna only has to reach 17 feet to hit flood level at Harrisburg. It is expected to crest around 20 feet. Flood waters from Agnes reached 33.27 feet, the only time the river crested above 30 feet.

Here are the nine times the Susquehanna crested at major flood levels in Marietta:

64.54 inches: June 23, 1972
60.73 inches: March 19, 1936
58.30 inches: June 2, 1889
58.16 inches: Sept. 9, 2011
56.80 inches: January 21, 1996
56.28 inches: Sept. 20, 2004
55.73 inches: Sept. 27, 1975
54.90 inches: May 29, 1946
54.03 inches: March 12, 1964