The National Weather Service in State College has issued a special weather statement for parts of five midstate counties. The special weather statement was issued for York, Lancaster, Adams, Lebanon and Dauphin counties. At 1:39 p.m., Doppler radar indicated strong thunderstorms along a line extending from Annville to near Valley Green to near Lake Meade. Movement was east at 30 mph. Very heavy rain is expected, and winds in excess of 30 mph are possible. Locations impacted include the York, Lebanon, Hershey, Weigelstown, Elizabethtown, Lititz, Middletown, Mount Joy, Palmyra, Steelton, Manheim, Annville, Hummelstown, Cornwall, Myerstown, Shiloh, Maytown, Campbelltown, Valley Green and Manchester areas. The National Weather Service in State College has also issued a flood advisory for parts of several midstate counties until 3:15 p.m. The flood advisory has been issued for northeastern Adams County, northwestern York County; southern Dauphin County and eastern Cumberland County. Check with PennLive for all of your weather updates. You can see live weather updates via the National Weather Service and other Twitter sources below. Tweet us at @pennlive with photos of inclement weather at your place, incidents you see on your commute or send a submission to submissions@pennlive.com.<doc-sep>Flash flood watches and warnings were issued for about 30 million people along the East Coast as heavy rain continued to pelt the region on Wednesday. Since Saturday, parts of the mid-Atlantic have been hit with more than 10 inches of rain, causing numerous rescues and evacuations, according to the National Weather Service's Weather Prediction Center. From eastern North Carolina to central New York, heavy rain was expected to continue on Wednesday, with parts of Pennsylvania and Maryland at risk for as much as 8 inches. "We have a stream of heavy rain coming in off the Atlantic ocean that has been coming in for days," said Steven Strouss, a meteorologist for NBC News, who added that other areas could receive 1 to 3 inches of rain on Wednesday. Pennsylvania's Hersheypark was forced to close for the second time this week because of the relentless rain. In other parts of Hershey, rescuers went door to door helping residents out of their homes by inflatable boats. "The heavy rain has been focused over central Pennsylvania for last couple days," Strouss said. "The ground was already saturated, and the rivers and streams and creeks can't handle all that water, so that's why we saw all that flooding." By Wednesday afternoon, power failures in Pennsylvania had fallen below 5,000, utilities reported. The state Department of Health said no storm-related deaths had been reported. Earlier in the week, a 19-year-old woman went missing in Pennsylvania after she and a 22-year-old woman were swept away in a creek. The 22-year-old woman was able to escape, but the 19-year-old, Laura Olweiler, wasn't. Pennsylvania State Police said Wednesday afternoon that conditions remained too hazardous for now to continue the search for Olweiler. In Fairfax, Virginia, on Wednesday, some roads were under water, nearly swallowing cars in some areas. In Baltimore County, Maryland, several homes were crippled after large trees toppled onto roofs. Even as far south as Florida, turbulent weather created riptides, which made swimming extremely dangerous for beachgoers. Strouss said the heaviest rain would shift east on Thursday, giving central Pennsylvania some much-needed relief. "It looks like the focus moves more to the east tomorrow and is more over New England and the immediate East Coast and won't be so focused over Appalachia and the mid-Atlantic," he said. Earlier this week, at least two people died amid the strong downpours in the mid-Atlantic and Northeast. A woman was killed when a tree fell on her home in Burke, Virginia, southeast of Washington, after days of heavy rain, Fairfax County Battalion Chief Willie Bailey told NBC Washington. Her husband was nearby but survived. "Obviously, with all the rain in the past couple of days, the roots of these trees have really loosened up," Bailey said. A tree fell on a home in Agawam, Massachusetts, on Monday, killing another person, but it was unclear whether weather played a role. While the East Cost was hammered by rain, the West Coast suffered under an ongoing heat wave. An excessive heat warning was issued on Wednesday for parts of Arizona, according to the National Weather Service, where temperatures were expected to be about 116 degrees. High temperatures Tuesday broke daily records in parts of Southern California, where Death Valley hit 127 and Palm Springs reached 121, according to the weather service. The National Park Service closed almost 8,000 acres of Yosemite National Park in California — including hotels and campgrounds in the Yosemite Valley and Wawona — as high temperatures and low humidity complicated firefighters' efforts to defeat the Ferguson Fire. The fire has charred more than 38,000 acres since it started July 13. The affected areas are expected to remain closed through Sunday, the park service said. It was so hot in Mesa, Arizona, on Tuesday — 105 degrees — that a 37-year-old man stole an ambulance from Banner Desert Hospital because, police said, "he thought it was too hot to walk home." He was charged with two felonies.<doc-sep>HARRISBURG, Pa. -- Five days of relentless downpours have left central Pennsylvania a soggy mess, closing roads and businesses, sending creeks and streams spilling over their banks and requiring rescues and evacuations.Firefighters helped people escape their flooded neighborhood near Hershey on Wednesday morning, and search crews have not been able to find a woman swept away Monday night while crossing the rain-swollen Conewago Creek near Elizabethtown.Rainfall of up to 7 to 11 inches drenched the region over the past five days, with more on the way before clearer weather is expected Thursday.July rainfall records were set in Williamsport and Harrisburg, most of it falling since Saturday morning. "We've experienced what we call an atmospheric river, which is where the pattern sets up and creates a fire hose, bringing moisture from the Atlantic," said John Banghoff, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in State College.Water approaching flooding levels on the Susquehanna River caused the Harrisburg Senators, who play on City Island in the river, to postpone two games. City Island, where a large parking garage is located, was closed for Thursday.Hersheypark and Knoebels Amusement Park in Elysburg - both located along flooded streams - shut down Monday, Wednesday and Thursday.The Red Cross opened shelters in Hershey and in the Susquehanna River town of Marietta.A Lancaster County dispatcher told LNP newspaper there was a spate of water rescues overnight and there were so many closed roads they could not count them all.The state Transportation Department said 97 roads were closed by early Wednesday afternoon, but no major highways.Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency spokeswoman Ruth Miller said there have been more than three dozen rescues in Schuylkill, Chester, Dauphin, Snyder and Northampton counties alone. She asked drivers to avoid going through floodwaters.The heavy precipitation caused significant damage in Schuylkill County, where the National Guard deployed two helicopter-based rescue teams and four high-water vehicles on Monday. In all, 73 National Guard personnel were on active duty, helping with the flood-related response. Gov. Tom Wolf was expected to tour that region on Thursday.The mayor of Tremont told the Pottsville Republican Herald that 70 structures in his 1,700-population borough were damaged by the water. "It just came in like a river," Tremont resident Sheena Giebler told the paper after 6 feet of water ruined oil tanks and appliances in her basement, and destroyed three vehicles. "There was no time. "Banghoff, from the weather service, warned people not to become complacent on Thursday as sunny skies were forecast. Flood waters still pose dangers in the form of swift currents and a potentially toxic mix of chemicals. "I'd encourage people to still not feel invincible, in that rivers are expected to continue rising tomorrow and into Friday," Banghoff said.Officials at PEMA activated the state's response coordination center, monitoring conditions and sending state equipment and personnel where they might be helpful.<doc-sep>
This weekend will feature the start of a pattern of persistent downpours which could not only keep activities indoors, but stifle the summer heat. A rainstorm moving up the east coast from the south will coincide with a shift in the jet stream, AccuWeather reports. This combination will mark the beginning of an extended period of wet and humid conditions for most of the East. "The rain can be heavy enough to cause a period of urban flooding," according to the report. "The combination of drenching rain and gusty winds could cause sporadic power outages, especially where strong thunderstorms become intertwined with the storm system." That heavy rain is expected to impact central Pennsylvania into Saturday night. AccuWeather predicts storms and possible flooding across Pennsylvania this weekend. A second storm moving in from the Midwest will bring more rain to parts of western Pennsylvania, including Pittsburgh. "For a time this weekend, a gap between both the coastal storm and the Midwest storm is likely to exist from central Virginia to central Pennsylvania and western and central New York state," according to AccuWeather. "Little to no rain may fall in these areas through much of the weekend." AccuWeather also anicipates rain and thunderstorms across most of the East coast into next week. Here's a look at the forecast into early next week: Saturday: Periods of rain into the afternoon. High: 74 Saturday night: Mostly cloudy skies, periods of rain. Low: 62 Sunday: Variable cloudiness, an afternoon shower or thunderstorm. High: 81 Sunday night: Increasing clouds, a shower or thunderstorm possible. Low: 73 Monday: Mostly cloudy skies, showers and thunderstorms expected. High: 83 Monday night: Cloudy skies, occasional rain and a thunderstorm. Low: 73 Tuesday: Cloudy skies, a few showers and a thunderstorm. High: 85 Tuesday night: Overcast skies, a brief shower or two in the evening. Low: 72 You can see live weather updates via the National Weather Service and other Twitter sources below. Tweet us at @pennlive with photos of inclement weather at your place, incidents you see on your commute or send a submission to submissions@pennlive.com.