Forecasters tracking Florence’s effect on midstate

(Harrisburg) — The midstate saw about four inches of rain over the weekend, and more gray days are ahead as forecasters track Hurricane Florence’s path up the East Coast.

But the commonwealth may avoid the worst of the rain.

Barry Lambert, a senior meteorologist with the National Weather Service in State College, says there is a stalled-out frontal boundary extending from the New England states to Pennsylvania.

“And that’s going to be the feature that’s going to set the stage for where powerful Hurricane Florence is eventually going to come on shore and link up with that frontal boundary and spread some more moisture up here over the weekend,” Lambert said. 

Lambert said current models show Florence stalling out over North Carolina or Virginia, and that would save Pennsylvania from heavy rains.

“As we all know, we don’t really need any more,” he said. “From all the heavy rain we’ve had at least during the second half of the summer and specifically over the last week here–we’ve had four to seven inches in a lot of places in central Pennsylvania.” 

But if the storm does track more to the north, the commonwealth could be hit harder.

The Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency says it’s monitoring rivers and streams across the state as water levels rise and fall.