Rain, melting snow inundate Phila. area

Now you see it. Now you don't.

The winter storm that roared in last weekend with a record December snowfall vanished in yesterday's rain, swelling creeks and closing some roads, mostly in New Jersey.

Just one week after two feet of snow fell on some areas, the Garden State was being soaked, with about an inch or more expected in most areas.

The rain began falling Christmas night and was forecast to continue through this morning.

But with temperatures soaring into the 50s at Philadelphia International Airport, "it's not so much the rain but all the snow out there melting" that's causing flooding, said Roy Miller, a National Weather Service meteorologist.

"It's pretty when it falls, but you've got to clean it up and wait for it to melt. And when it melts, it causes problems," said Joe Miketta, another meteorologist with the weather service.

Flood warnings were issued for most of South Jersey. The Cooper River in Haddonfield and the south branch of the Rancocas Creek in Vincentown were swollen yesterday afternoon.

Other small streams were overflowing, with an additional half inch of rain still to come, Miller said.

The Brooklawn traffic circle on Route 130 was swamped and closed to traffic.

Streams in Chester and Delaware counties were also raging. In Birmingham, Route 926 at Creek Road was closed because of the overflow.

And in Middletown Township, a 2008 Mazda SUV ended up in Ridley Creek after failing to negotiate a turn on Knowlton Road just south of Fox Road, according to state police in Media.

Two passengers had to be rescued when the vehicle rolled down an embankment and into the creek, where it traveled for about 100 yards before getting stuck on a rock. Pulled from the car was Denise Paul, 55, of Media. A 14-year-old girl, also of Media, was rescued from the creek.

They had minor injuries, police said.