The month of September has been the wettest in at least seven years.
More than 17 inches of rain had fallen in Sunbury through Wednesday morning, according to John LaCorte, National Weather Service meteorologist. That total exceeds the second-wettest month, September 2004, when 6.4 inches fell in the area.
Nearly 58 inches of rain has fallen so far this year, greatly exceeding the 42.5 considered normal for a year's total.
Those figures are collected by weather cooperative participants in Sunbury who call NWS daily, and are expected to increase as scattered showers and thunderstorms roll through Northumberland County today.
A NWS weather station in Selinsgrove recorded roughly an inch of rain through 8 p.m. Wednesday.
Flash flood warning
The county was in a flash flood warning, and flooding was considered "imminent" at 8:16 p.m. Wednesday. The warning was expected to end at 11:15 p.m. Flood warnings were first posted early afternoon Wednesday, and were extended throughout the evening.
Kulpmont, Shamokin and Elysburg were among the warning areas where flooding was considered likely. South central Columbia County, northern Dauphin County and west central Schuylkill County were also under a warning.
As for how much rain was expected to fall Wednesday night into today, LaCorte said it's hard to tell. Some places will surely get soaked, he said, while others may get next to nothing.
"With showers and scattered thunderstorms like this, it's pretty hard to say who will get what," he said.
The good news, he said, is that next week is expected to be dry.