In the valleys, expect rain

The area could get as much as 4 inches of rain.
By DAVID SKOLNICK
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Local residents can expect steady and heavy rain along with winds gusting up to at least 30 mph tonight through Friday night as the Mahoning and Shenango valleys get hit by the remnants of Hurricane Isabel.
"It's not anything we didn't see in July, but that wasn't a good thing," said Tom King, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Cleveland. "This isn't going to be good, either."
He was referring to the 10.39 inches of rain the Mahoning Valley received in July, the second-most rainfall in a month in the area's recorded weather history.
The hurricane is traveling up the East Coast with winds at 110 mph, and was expected to hit North Carolina today .
Rain will start to fall tonight and be quite heavy, with accumulations predicted at 2 to 4 inches through Friday, King said.
During the July rainfall, the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport in Vienna, where the Mahoning Valley's official count is made, received 4.65 inches July 21, the most rain to ever fall in a 24-hour period in the area.
The rain is expected to stop or considerably slow down by 8 p.m. Friday, he said.
"It all depends on the track and speed of the hurricane," King said. "But we'll have several inches of rain."
Also, winds are expected to gust up to 30 mph, but that could be a conservative estimate, King said. "It will be a breezy to windy day."
By late Friday, the heavy rains will taper off, and Saturday is expected to be a dry day full of sunshine, King added.
Walter Duzzny, Mahoning County Emergency Management Agency's director, said people should take precautions similar to the ones they took during July's heavy rainfall. That includes having an emergency preparedness kit including a radio with batteries, a flashlight and first-aid items. Also, don't drive on flooded roads, Duzzny said.
"Don't try to run the gantlet," he said. "Cars don't float. They sink after a while. If we get a lot of rain, don't drive on roadways. Also, people should be careful about electrical issues if we get flooding."