There was deep concern along the great river Sunday and Monday, as forecast models predicted 3 to 5 inches of precipitation over Pennsylvania and northern West Virginia. Ironically, even as forecasters and computer models did a remarkable job of predicting how the freakish storm would unfold, there was - fortunately for us - one area of discrepancy.

 

According to Weather Channel hurricane specialist Bryan Norcross, in all the complexity of a hurricane, winter storm and cold front merging, a larger than expected amount of dry air mixed in as the storm moved into Pennsylvania. The result? Actual rainfall totals in the Allegheny and Monongahela watersheds were about half of predicted amounts.