Delaware River Could Flood Saturday Morning From Overnight Storms

NEW HOPE, PA — The National Weather Service projects that the Delaware River will flood Saturday morning, with excess water around 1/2 a foot near New Hope and levels more than 2 feet above the flood stage near Newtown.

Both instances would fall just below what constitutes minor flooding along the riverbanks, according to the weather service's projection.

At the New Hope-Lambertville Bridge, the water levels sit at 8.08 feet after rising from yesterday's rainfall. The river is projected to crest at 12.5 feet, at which point the lower parking lot of the Lambertville Station Inn starts to flood.

The river should reach its highest point near New Hope around 2 p.m. Saturday.

New Hope and Lambertville will not see flooding nearly as catastrophic as what the towns weathered this summer in the remnants of Hurricane Ida, per the weather service's projections. During that storm, water levels at all area creeks flooded in addition to the Delaware River cresting above its flood stage.

The Delaware River at Washington Crossing currently rests at 9.28 feet, but could crest at 15.1 feet — two feet above its flood stage in that area — around 8 p.m. Saturday, according to the forecast.

At those flood levels, the intersection of River Road and the overlook in Upper Makefield starts to flood, low points on Pennsylvania Route 32 begin to flood, and the intersection of River Road and Jonathan Way just south of the canal in Upper Makefield begins to flood, the weather service shows.

In nearby Yardley, mayor Chris Harding cautioned residents to expect North and South Delaware Avenues to be impassible by Friday afternoon.

"Rivermawr residents should move vehicles above the canal by mid-day as a precaution," he said in a message to residents.

Updated information from the National Weather Service on possible flooding near New Hope and Newtown can be found online.

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