Hurricane watch: Will York County see the effects of Nicole?

Subtropical Storm Nicole may be a long way from York County right now, but its remnants are expected to reach Pennsylvania later this week.

The National Weather Service in State College is forecasting a 100% chance of rain — potentially a significant amount of rain — on Friday for the county. Nicole is expected to make landfall on Thursday in Florida as a hurricane, after which its remnants are expected to move quickly up the East Coast. 

“It’s going to contribute to widespread rainfall over Eastern Pennsylvania through Central Pennsylvania,” National Weather Service meteorologist Rachel Buvala said. “It looks like for York County, the storm total amounts for what Nicole might do is about 3 inches of rain. There could be locally higher amounts as well, but ballpark 3 inches is what we are forecasting at this point.” 

Dry conditions in the county over the past several weeks should keep flooding chances to a minimum, Buvala said. 

“We’re not expecting too many flooding impacts at this point given that everywhere has been fairly dry,” she said. “Our guidance is telling us that 4-5 inches is kind of the limit for flooding. We’re not expecting too many impacts in the way of flooding."

Buvala said areas with poor drainage may be vulnerable to localized flooding, however.

The rain Friday will mostly be a soaking one and shouldn’t be terribly impactful, she said, but that could change as Nicole’s remnants get closer to the area.  

York County won't allow 'curing' of mail-in ballots, plans hand count

'You're an a--,' judge tells former elected official in assault, sexting cases

Coroner IDs victim in fatal milk truck crash

“We’ll get a better idea about how much rain will fall if the track of Nicole moves east or west and how much moisture will be associated with that as well,” Buvala said.  

A cold front is moving in from the west that will push out the remnants of Nicole late Friday into Saturday. 

“That may contribute to more or less rainfall as we closer,” Buvala said. 

Before Nicole reaches York County, the forecast is fantastic — warm and mostly sunny.

Here is the outlook for York County for the next few days: 

Today: Mostly sunny, with a high near 58. North wind 7 to 11 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.

Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 31. North wind around 6 mph becoming calm in the evening.

Wednesday: Is expected to be sunny, with a high near 55. There will be a light and variable wind coming from the east of around 5 mph in the afternoon. 

Wednesday night: It will be partly cloudy, with a low around 39. A southeast wind around 6 mph will become calm after midnight. 

Thursday: It will be mostly sunny, with a high near 63. A calm wind will blow out of the south at 5 to 8 mph in the morning. 

Thursday night: There is a 20% chance of rain after 1 a.m. Otherwise, it will be mostly cloudy, with a low around 52.