It's wet and balmy, but no weather record set

The springlike weather that brought pouring rain and rising temperatures Sunday into Monday, bringing down tree limbs onto utility lines and flooding small streams, will gradually taper off and cool down tonight.

Temperatures in Carbon County and parts of Schuylkill were expected to reach about 55 degrees today, then drop to about 31 degrees by Tuesday morning. The rain is expected to slow by tonight, but there could be icy conditions for Tuesday morning's commute.

Despite the drenching downpour, the area is still below the normal amount of precipitation for this time of year, said National Weather Service meteorologist Valerie Meola.

From 7 a.m. Sunday to 7 a.m. Monday, 1.4 inches of rain fell at Mount Pocono, mostly after 1 a.m. Monday, she said. "Typically, at this point in the year, we would be averaging over 3 inches. But we only got about an inch so far this month. This will help lessen that deficit," Meola said.

Rain is expected to continue today, with a thunderstorm this afternoon that may bring heavy rain and gusty winds. "Then everything starts to clear out as we head into tonight," she said. "By tomorrow morning, there will just be a chance of showers or snow showers."

The balmy temperatures are "quite unusual," she said. "As of 8 a.m., it was already 52 degrees. The normal temperature for this time of year is about 30 degrees. This not typical weather for January, but we're still far short of the record - 64 degrees in 1967."

The National Weather Service has issued a wind advisory until 1 p.m. today and flood watch until 5 p.m.

The rain and wind caused power outages in some areas, as weakened tree limbs fell onto power lines.

As of 8:45 a.m., 201 PPL customers in Carbon County were without electricity: 124 in Banks Township, 44 in Lower Towamensing Township, 21 in East Penn Township and 12 in Summit Hill. In Schuylkill County, 1,582 customers were out, including 909 in West Brunswick Township and 8 in West Penn Township. In Monroe County, 51 customers were without power, mostly in Tobyhanna Township.

Emergency personnel in both Carbon and Schuylkill counties were busy Monday morning handling calls about trees and wires down. Firefighters were called out to direct traffic and clear debris from roads.