As Hurricane Isaias approaches U.S., looking back at tropical storm that hit Philadelphia region in 2020
As Hurricane Isaias intensifies and threatens the U.S. Gulf Coast, the name might sound familiar to many in the Philadelphia region.
Tropical Storm Isaias swept through the Philadelphia region on Aug. 4, 2020, producing one of our most significant tropical rainfall and tornado events in recent memory.
The storm brought widespread rainfall totals of 4 to 7 inches in the wetter areas, with some locations receiving even more. Both Perkiomen Creek at Graterford and Little Lehigh Creek at Allentown reached record flood levels.
Damaging winds brought down trees and power lines, and eight tornadoes were confirmed across the broader regional forecast area, including an EF2 that tracked approximately 20 miles from Northeast Philadelphia into Bucks County, producing winds estimated as high as 115 mph.
Importantly, Isaias had already weakened to a tropical storm when it reached our region in 2020. It was the storm's interaction with a powerful upper-level system that helped produce such widespread impacts.
That does not mean we're expecting a repeat this weekend. The current storm is following a very different path, and at this point, rainfall is our primary concern. The exact track and interaction with the approaching weather system will determine how much rain ultimately reaches our area.
In anticipation of this Isaias, the first hurricane of the 2026 Atlantic season, a hurricane warning is in effect for the northern Gulf Coast, from the Mississippi-Alabama state line, across southern Alabama, to Panama City, Florida.
