Raindrops keep falling on our heads

By JENNIFER PIERSON and ANNE MARIE APOLLO

August 9, 2000 Web posted at: 11:18 AM EDT (1518 GMT)

ERIE, Pennsylvania (Erie Time News) -- In case anyone needed a reminder about why Erie is sometimes called dreary, this summer has seen a large number of overcast, rainy days -- 15 of 30 days in June; 9 of 31 in July; and 4 of 7 so far in August.

The worst of it hit last Wednesday when about 3.5 inches of rain fell in the city. Thousands in the Erie area went without power. Homes were evacuated in western Erie County near Albion. Cars were abandoned in giant puddles.

But Erie had already seen a lot of rain this summer. And a lot of that rain has been falling on the weekends when vacationers tend to visit Erie -- on at least parts of 8 of 11 weekends since a rain-free but chilly Memorial Day.

In June, rain fell on three out of four weekends. In July, four out of five saw rain. It also rained the one weekend so far in August.

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Both June and July saw above-average amounts of rain, and August is shaping up the same way. Being only seven days into August, the average rainfall of 4.08 has already been passed. So far, 4.48 inches of rain have fallen in Erie this month and more is predicted.

While none of these are the wettest months on record -- that happened in July 1947 when the participation total was 13.27 inches -- the rain has seemed relentless. The National Weather Service cannot actually say how wet the summer has been on a whole because statistics are only kept month-by-month, not by season.

Weekend visitors who stay at Sara Coyne Campground, next to the entrance of Presque Isle State Park off Peninsula Drive, have learned up close and personal what it means to be wet-- tents, sleeping bags, clothes and people were soaked last week by the heavy rains.

Many of the tents fell over when the ground became too loose to hold the tent stakes.

To try to prevent that, Bob Kulbacki spent Monday afternoon clearing Scott Run, the creek that runs through the campground. He stays at the campground all summer in a trailer and said that even when there is 8 inches of rain on the ground, it does not come into his trailer, which is 4 feet off the ground.

He took the chain saw he normally uses to cut firewood to clear the debris and overgrowth that blocked Scott Run.

While some tent campers packed it up on Thursday, Kulbacki said, many of them just dried out and stayed through the weekend. Once people have taken time off work for vacation, not even nasty weather can stop their plans, several said.

Everywhere the ground was damp, and pools of standing water still dot the campground.

On Sunday night, camper Holly Graf piled sand on the tent's tie downs to make sure it didn't wash away.

One point in the rain's favor is that it has made for better fishing. Graf said she was glad she came up from Pittsburgh, despite the weather.

Rainy summer weather also hasn't done much to dampen enthusiasm for cottage rentals around Conneaut Lake in Crawford County.

"It's been fairly good summer," said Lucille Parker, who operates Parker Real Estate Services in Conneaut Lake. "Sometimes people have fun no matter what, and there are people who don't have fun no matter how nice it is."

And this summer's weather is no indication of what is coming. Just because this summer has been wet and cool, that does not mean winter will be cold, snowy or mild. Weather patterns are unpredictable, said Kirk Lombardi, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Cleveland. The summer's rainstorms are being caused by the upper level jet stream moving south, he said.

At the campground, several people said dealing with the rain was just part of camping. But several were just starting their vacations on Monday and pointed out they were glad their vacations were not planned for last week.

Meanwhile, the forecast for Wednesday and Thursday calls for scattered thunderstorms. Friday's weather should be partly cloudy with a high near 78, and Saturday's forecast calls for mostly sunny skies and a high around 81.

The above average rainfall and cool temperatures will continue throughout the month, Lombardi said.

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