Wettest. Summer. Ever.
The summer of 2018 may have broken a record. It’s been our wettest summer. Ever. The previous high water mark? The summer of 1972 – the year of Agnes. While our rain has been spread out pretty evenly over the last three months, Hurricane Agnes plowed through Pennsylvania at the end of June 1972, dumping nearly 15 inches of rain on our county in just a matter of days. The Susquehanna River crested at 64.54 feet at Marietta – just check out the marker at Shank’s Tavern for perspective if you’re ever in that neck of the woods. Heck, even the Governor’s Mansion in Harrisburg had to be evacuated. My father was just a few years on the job at PPL when the storm hit. Mom says he left work on a Wednesday and she didn’t see him again until Sunday. Roads were so flooded that trucks couldn’t get through, so crews were out in boats trying to restore power.
Examples of the storm’s flooding – Boas Market near Maple Grove innundated by the Little Conestoga River at Columbia Avenue – and her destruction – the remnants of the Hunsecker Road covered bridge listing in the Conestoga Creek – are evident in these images snapped by Albert Einolf during and after the storm. All in all, Agnes caused $3.2 billion in damages and dumped 19 inches of rain in some parts of the state. Kind of makes our even wetter summer seem, well, not so wet. 