Flooding isn't something we usually worry about in January, but six years ago today the area was recovering from some of the worst winter flooding ever.

A combination of extraordinary circumstances led to the flooding. First, there was still plenty of snow left on the ground from the Blizzard of '96" earlier in the month. Between one and two feet remained in most places from Wilmington and Philadelphia north. Melted down, this was between two and four inches of water. On January 18 and 19, moist southerly winds sent temperatures soaring to the 50s and even 60s. The snow melted rapidly, and then one to three inches of rain fell in a short period.

Flash flooding of small streams began on January 19. The rain ended that evening, but larger streams and rivers such as the Christina, Delaware, and Schuylkill kept rising from the runoff. All gauges along the Delaware and Schuylkill Rivers exceeded flood stage, and some places reached their highest crests since Hurricane Diane in August 1955.