Monday night's thunderstorms dumped 2.5 inches of rain on parts of the county, and more rain was expected this afternoon and evening.

But better weather is on the way for the second half of the week.

Brian Wimer, of AccuWeather, said Monday night's thunderstorms were slow-moving and hit the northwestern part of the county the hardest.

The Northwest Regional Police Department reported that some roads in Mount Joy and West Donegal townships were temporarily closed last night, either due to flooding or because officials needed to remove tree debris.

But traffic was moving smoothly in both townships today, officials there said. The only exception was one road in West Donegal that was still reduced to one lane at mid-morning, said Northwest Police Chief Sam Gatchell. It was expected to be fully open by noon.

Wimer said the area around the Lancaster Airport received a total of 2.5 inches of rain Monday during heavy morning downpours and evening thunderstorms.Wimer said the heavy thunderstorms are typical for this time of year.


     AccuWeather forecast


"It's part of the normal summer that you get some heavy thunderstorms, and the case yesterday was that they were moving very slowly," Wimer said. "That's the nature of thunderstorms."

Wimer predicted that today's thunderstorms would hit "a few spots" between 2 and 8 p.m.

"You can't really pinpoint (where) on such a small scale," he said.

Wimer said today's high was expected to reach 89 degrees, but the high humidity would make it feel closer to 94 degrees.

Wednesday's high will be 90 degrees, although the humidity will make it feel closer to 95 degrees.

Then a cold front moving in from the West will make it feel more comfortable for the rest of the week.

Wimer said the cold front should make Thursday and Friday "dry and much less humid, though still warm."

The high for Thursday is expected to be 87 degrees and the low 61 degrees. Friday's high is expected to be 85 degrees, and the low 62 degrees.

"It'll definitely feel more comfortable," Wimer said.

n Staff writer Liz Navratil can be reached at lnavratil@LNPnews.com or 481-6014.