The National Weather Service has issued a flash flood warning for southwestern Northampton County including Hellertown borough and Lower Saucon Township through 11:30 p.m. Monday.
According to a NWS statement, “at 7:25 p.m. Doppler radar indicated heavy rain across the warned area. Two to three inches of rain have already fallen in some areas and more rain is moving in. An additional one to two inches of rain is possible. Flash flooding is expected in areas that receive the heaviest rain.”
The ground in the area is already saturated from heavy rain that fell during severe storms Sunday night. Those storms knocked out power to more than 1,500 PPL customers in Lower Saucon Township. It was restored to the area by early Monday.
Due to training of the rainbands that continue to bear down on the Saucon Valley, any flooding that occurs is likely to be localized.
For example, while parts of Wassergass had already received inches of rain by 7:30 p.m., much of the borough of Hellertown was just starting to feel the raindrops fall.
Wassergass resident Heather Saltzer reported that a section of Easton Road near her home was “completely flooded out” and posted a photo of her flooded yard on Saucon Source’s Facebook page (see below).
Another reader, Jessica King, reported flooding at Easton and Lower Saucon Road and along Alpine Drive.
Several Facebook posters also reported flooding in the area of Willow Park Road and William Penn Highway in Bethlehem Township–an area that is prone to flooding by the Nancy Run.
The National Weather Service warned residents to be cautious driving Monday night.
Motorists should never attempt to drive through flooded roadways, as it is difficult to nearly impossible to gauge the depth and current of floodwaters that obscure a road.