'96 Blizzard Was Hot Story For Newscasters

Allan Reposh 
Jan. 21, 1996 
Allan J. Reposh Of Elizabeth, N.j., Died Sunday In The Elizabeth General 
Hospital.

By JERRY LYNOTT; Times Leader Staff Writer
 Tuesday, January 23, 1996 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 1A 





It hasn't entered the meteorological lexicon yet but after the flood of
January 1996, the `hair dryer effect' might become a new term. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 A warm wind gusted throughout the area that drains into the Susquehanna
River basin early Friday, softening up the record snowfall that fell the week
before. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; To hear Dave Zanzalari describe it, the 50- and 60-degree temperatures
combined with the wind, whipping up to 70 mph in some places, all but opened
the floodgates of the 27,500-square mile drainage area. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "You had warm wind pumping energy into the snowpack. It's the equivalent of
putting a hair dryer on the snowpack," said Zanzalari, a hydrologist with the
Middle Atlantic River Forecast Center in State College. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Then the rains came. Too much came too quickly for the snow to absorb.
Streams and creeks swelled and fed into the river, causing it to rise and
expand like bread dough. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 At the river's crest of 34.38 feet in Wilkes-Barre on Saturday afternoon,
about 221,000 cubic feet of water flowed by every second. Normal river flow
for this time of year is 13,420 cubic feet per second at a height of about 2.1
feet, according to John Chiaramonte, a hydrologist with the National Weather
Service in Binghamton, N.Y. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The river crept close to the levee height of 37 feet in the city.
Unprotected low-lying areas to the north and south were inundated. But if not
for the flood of March 1936, parts of the city and West Side communities would
have been swamped by the rush of the river this weekend. Because of that
disaster nearly 60 years ago, the levees were raised to their current height.
The levees, however, offered no protection from the swollen creeks that soaked
houses in Parsons and south Wilkes-Barre. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Now, like then, emergency management planners and river watchers have the
opportunity to learn from the flood, said John E. McSparran, chief engineer
with the Susquehanna River Basin Commission in Harrisburg. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "The good that will come out of it is the forecasting system will be able
to be updated based on the information we learned here," McSparran. said.
"It's very unusual to get this kind of snowmelt in January." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The actual measurements of rainfall, snowmelt, river height and flow will
expand the data base and lead to better forecasts, according to Dale Bruns, a
Wilkes University professor. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "There are two ways you can model, one is very theoretical and mathematic.
The other model is based on real data," said Bruns, a river ecologist. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Bruns said he might have satellite imagery of the river flooding --
information that could assist Luzerne County officials as they develop a
computerized emergency response system. But he won't know until today. A
French satellite known as SPOT might have captured the river during a pass on
Saturday, he said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Bruns lauded county officials for doing what he called "a top-notch job"
with the disaster. "They used the best data they had to make the best
decisions they could," he said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 County Emergency Management Agency officials called for an evacuation of
certain areas after receiving a change in the crest calculation late Friday
night. The recalculated crest of between 35 and 36 feet was close to the
actual number. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 George J. Lazorchick, an hydraulic engineer with the commission, said the
higher readings the forecast center was receiving from gauges in tributaries
of the Susquehanna River led to the upgrade from a 32- to 33-foot crest. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "As time goes by they refine the forecast," Lazorchick said. And that's
what happened Friday night." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

`hair Dryer Effect' Brought Valley Close To Disaster