Tropical Storm Hanna expected to drench eastern Pa.

Some schools are canceling games scheduled today.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Tropical Storm Hanna’s northward march is expected to be felt in the Philadelphia area, where a forecast of heavy rain and high winds could result in power outages.

The projected track jumped westward as the front moved toward Pennsylvania, meaning a swath of the state’s eastern region, from Monroe County through the Lehigh Valley and into Philadelphia, could get up to 7 inches of rainfall.

Dave Ondrejik, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in State College, said heavy rains and expected winds of more than 40 mph could be a potent combination.

“Once you get your third or fourth inch of rain, that wets the ground pretty well and loosens the soil,” Ondrejik said. “And then, if you start getting 50 mph winds, you could start seeing trees come down.”

Rainfall totals are expected to be lighter west of Philadelphia, with the Harrisburg-York-Lancaster region in store for about 3 inches, and State College likely to get less than an inch.

Philadelphia officials said they would activate the city’s emergency operations center late this morning to monitor the storm and coordinate delivery of any needed services.

Forecasts of inclement weather prompted some schools to cancel games scheduled for today.

The Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency has added a watch officer to its command center, is monitoring the storm and has asked county emergency officials to pass along information about any storm-related problems, said PEMA deputy press secretary Ruth Myers.

“We’re just in touch with them and we’re standing by ready, but we’re not doing anything major,” Myers said.

The state Department of Environmental Protection compiled a list of 71 dams that should be monitored during the weather event, said spokesman Mike Smith. If the storm is more severe than expected, the agency will contact treatment plants and respond if sewage ends up being spilled into any waterways.

The weather service’s Ondrejik said the next storm in the pipeline, Hurricane Ike, will be all the more dangerous if it reaches Pennsylvania because the ground will still be wet from Hanna.

“We’re pretty dry, so we can handle 2, 3, 4 inches of rain,” he said. “If Hanna drops that much and then Ike comes along and drops that much or more, we could see major flooding.”