As some area residents experienced power outages from the gusting winds and heavy rainfall Monday and Tuesday, the National Weather Service in State College said the area was "fortunate" Hurricane Sandy weakened before hitting Williamsport.
"Fortunately, we didn't get hit as hard as the coastal areas," said meteorologist Tony Mach.
Mach reported that the area saw 1.48 inches of rain during Monday and Tuesday's storm with wind gusts as strong as 48 mph, which caused the most trouble.
"The rain played a part (in damage). Mainly the damage was wind but the heavy rain soaked the ground so some trees that toppled were because the ground was so saturated," he said.
And unlike parts of New Jersey and New York, Mach said area streams and rivers weren't affected enough by the rain to create wide-spread flooding. He added that some parts of the state did see flooding and wind as strong as 70 mph.
"There were a few locations, mainly in the southern part of Pennsylvania, that flooded and actually a lot of those (were) cresting (Tuesday afternoon)," Mach said.
Mach explained that the area wasn't hit by the storm as hard as other areas were because, like most storms, as it moved off the coast and more inland it began to weaken.
"Most of these storms, they weaken when they come on shore. It weakened, but like I said in southern Pennsylvania there were higher wind gusts than (in Williamsport)," he said.
The storm was in the western part of the state late Tuesday and was expected to head north today, Mach said.
But that doesn't mean the area will have any relief from the rain, starting with a 70-percent chance of showers today.
"(Today) there will still be periods of rain, mainly in the morning," Mach said.
The showers should begin to dwindle as the week goes on and temperatures should remain in the 40s, Mach said.
Saturday has the possibility of being the first day without rain as the forecast is partly sunny, according to Mach.
