Pa. officials tell residents to prepare

Mercer County officials say the reservoirs can handle the expected rain.
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- Lawrence County officials are warning residents to prepare for Hurricane Isabel.
Emergency Management Director Sharyn Critchlow said residents should be ready for high winds, rain and possible power outages through the early morning Friday.
The National Weather Service has been keeping counties informed of the storm's progress, she said.
Critchlow suggested residents clean storm gutters to ensure any rain can pass through and keep flashlights and batteries on hand if there are power outages.
Estimating the path
John LaCorte, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in State College, said it was still expecting the center of the storm to enter the state somewhere around Chambersburg or Gettysburg, with winds just below the hurricane-strength threshold of 74 mph.
Private forecaster AccuWeather Inc., also based in State College, projected that the storm's center would track somewhere between Harrisburg and Johnstown, with the highest winds on the eastern side of the storm, meteorologist John Kocet said.
"It's going to have a path over land, and it's going to weaken pretty quickly," Kocet said. "By the time it gets to Pennsylvania, it won't be more than a Category 1 hurricane," the weakest variety with winds of 74 mph to 95 mph.
The Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency held a conference call with the National Weather Service and county emergency-management agency heads Monday morning, said PEMA spokesman Ron Ruman.
"The tough thing is, right now it's still three to four days out, but basically [PEMA is] just giving these guys the heads up," Ruman said Monday. "Essentially what we're doing at this point is saying, 'Review your plans, make sure you're ready."'
Officials in Mercer County say they aren't particularly concerned about Hurricane Isabel affecting the area. Area reservoirs are back to normal levels and can handle the expected one to two inches of rain, they said.
XThe Associated Press contributed to this report.