Groundwater Response to Recent Rains

I have and everyone else has by now shown y'all the surface hydrographs for the flooding rivers and streams in PA.  But here is a quick gander at the sub-surface water response to the recent heavy rains of the last month.  All of the graphs below show the last 120 days of data with the graph showing the water level BELOW GROUND LEVEL.  You can clearly see the stint of very hot and very dry weather from late June into early August.  Then the faucet was opened!  First the Dauphin County Test Well run by the USGS located near Indiantown Gap.  Note the response to the flash flooding event of August 6!

Here is the York County Test Well located just 2 miles SW of me!  Not so much rain on Aug 6!

And the test well in Lebanon County located in the thriving metropolis of Myerstown.  This well shows very rapid response times to thunderstorm activity and in fact it flooded with surface water if the data can be trusted with our most recent rains.  This is how groundwater can easily become contaminated.  The rapid response times indicate usually an abundance of fractured limestone in the subsurface rock strata, the fractures acting as rather large conduit or piping to allow the rapid movement of groundwater and very rapid response rates. 

In terms of the atmosphere, I will leave you with the day 3 NAM showing two potential threats to the eastern half of the USA once again.  Nate in the gulf is forecast to drift westward into MX and south TX while Maria is forecast to recurve and miss the US mainland not too differently than what Katia just did.  I just don't buy either of those scenarios quite yet!  Persistence is a forecasting technique that the atmosphere often repeats itself given similar circumstances.  And although the set-up is not 100% identical to what we just went through, there is that trough to the north of the gulf.  At least it is positively tilted (NE to SW).... and showing signs of being progressive.  If it were negatively tilted (from NW to SE), I would be very nervous for yet another heavy rain event 10 days hence.....

The last graphic is the precip and temps for KMDT to yesterday.  It looks like a lock that we will break the annual rainfall record of just over 59" in 1972.  As of yesterday, we are just under 57"!  Welcome to Miami, FL!

Hope everyone can dry out...but don't count on Ol Sol to help much the next 3-4 days!

Smitty

AA:  Groundwater responds to surface rains too.  2 tropical systems must be monitored.  No $%!* Sherlock, it's been wet outside!