Winter keeps pounding us with precip.
It won't be Rainmageddon, but the coming soaking could contain more water than any of the snowstorms this winter.
Two to four inches of rain could fall between Friday night and Sunday night, with the heaviest drenching on Saturday, according to the National Weather Service.
Saturday might threaten March and winter records that have stood for nearly a century - the 2.79 inches of rain that fell March 15, 1912, and the 2.92 inches established Feb. 2, 1915.
Flooding is a strong concern throughout the region, along with reduced visibility and beach erosion at the Shore, according to the National Weather Service.
Fortunately, after a stretch of about a dozen fairly dry days, waterways aren't over-swollen.
"They're still low enough where they could take a good bit of water," said meteorologist Mike Gorse, with the service's regional office in Mount Holly. "But if we get 2 to 4 inches widespread that's going to cause a lot of problems."
The melting of lingering snow in areas to the north could add to the threat.
"That water's got to come down, especially through the larger rivers," Gorse said.
The whole Philadelphia region is likely to get a lot of rain, with the timing being most in question. Instead of starting Friday night, the latest models suggest the heavy stuff might be mostly Saturday, Gorse said this morning.
Some thunder and lightning is possible on Saturday, especially near the Shore, where gusts could approach 40 m.p.h., but the forecast doesn't yet call for any, Gorse said.
As intense as this system sounds - there could be more rain than falls in some months - hot-weather thunderstorms can produce greater downpours, with rain falling up to two inches an hour, Gorse said.
The record rainfall for Philadelphia is 6.63 inches on Sept. 16, 1999 - part of the legacy of Hurricane Floyd. More than 5 inches fell on two August days and another in October. At least three inches fell on 16 other days - all from mid-April to early December.
So it could be worse.
It could be snow.
On Dec. 19, only 1.7 inches of water produced 22.5 inches of snow for Philadelphia, according to weather service records.
"Snowmageddon" - the paralyzing snowstorm of Feb. 5 and 6 - used 2.4 inches of water to create 28 inches of snow.
For more on the forecast, go to http://weather.philly.com.
