Flooding concerns as wet weather pattern becomes stuck over the region; Bangor hit hard

There was flooding early this morning in Bangor. See PHOTOS.

With an unstable weather system stuck over this part of the country, the beginning of the week will be wet and even a bit wild.

High pressure areas over the Atlantic Ocean and the Midwest have left the Lehigh Valley and northwest New Jersey in a soaking southwest flow, WeatherWorks meteorologist Nick Troiano said this morning from the company's Hackettstown headquarters.

Generally, storms and thunderstorms today could dump up to an inch of rain on the region, with some areas getting up to three inches, he said. That could lead to street and low-lying area flooding, he said. Today should be the worst of the wet weather, he said.

A flash-flood warning was in place until 8:30 this morning for northeastern Northampton County and north-central Warren County, the National Weather Service said. It was later extended to 10:30. The warning for Warren County was later extended to 1 p.m. A flash-flood warning for Hunterdon County was in place until noon. A flash-flood watch was in place until 10 tonight in Lehigh, Northampton, Warren and Hunterdon counties, but it was extended until Tuesday night, the weather service says.

There was flooding early this morning in Bangor with possible evacuations on South Main Street, according to emergency radio reports. A shift supervisor at the Northampton County emergency dispatch center termed it "residual flooding" from heavy overnight rain. Fire crews were on pump duty in the 600 block of South Main; the street was closed at Messinger Street, radio reports and the supervisor said.

There was an emergency radio report of garages collapsed on Messinger Street, but the shift supervisor said the degree of damage and the specific location were not confirmed. She said there were reports of "structural deterioration" to two garages.

Borough Mayor John Brown said the Northampton County Department of Emergency Management Services is supporting the fire department as one building was evacuated and basements were being pumped out. The creek that runs near Northampton and Messinger streets to come out of its banks and there was a concern that more rain is on the way, he said. Electricity was cut off to the neighborhood as a safety precaution, he said. No one was injured, he said.

• See an update: Bangor neighborhood damaged by flash flood

The high pressure over the Atlantic should move west by midweek, pushing the wet weather to toward the central and western party of Pennsylvania and leaving the region in a more typical summer weather pattern, Troiano said.