Heading into August 1955, our region was in a drought, down 10 inches of much-needed rain for the year. But most of that was soon wiped out by a pair of tropical systems named Connie and Diane.

Connie formed way out in the Atlantic on August 3, 1955, and headed west. By the morning of the 12th, hurricane warnings were issued as far north as the Delaware breakwater. Connie came inland in North Carolina, and headed straight for Delaware, but then veered left and passed over Chesapeake Bay. Still, winds gusted past 60mph in Philadelphia, and Connie soaked Delaware, eastern Pennsylvania, and New Jersey with 4 to 6 inches of rain.

The soggy remnants of the storm continued northwestward into the Great Lakes. With this unusual track, we stayed in a southeasterly flow of warm moist air in the days after the storm, so the saturated ground didn't dry out much. And already, another tropical system was brewing in the Atlantic.