Looking better
While I've learned not to be over-confident when it comes to flood prediction, the forecast today is looking even better than yesterday. The National Weather Service is predicting a Susquehanna River crest at Harrisburg of 13.2 feet on Thursday evening, down from the 15.3 feet prediction yesterday. Given that the river is at about 5.5 feet now, a lot of water will be coming down to Harrisburg over the next three days. But it appears less and less likely to cause a flood in Shipoke.
Nevertheless, people are concerned. I was talking last night to my neighbor, Ed Taylor, and out of the corner of my eye saw a Fox 43 TV truck heading down Front Street. The TV crews will usually park down near the railroad bridge and let the reporter do a stand-up there, with the river in the background. I've seen it dozens of times. While I believe that overall, local TV does a good job of reporting the news, they tend to get carried away sometimes in flood reporting. This is not something that should be used to hype the 11 p.m. newscast. People in Shipoke want just the facts, which are dramatic enough by themselves without any help from the reporter or anchorman.
I tell newcomers to Shipoke to watch what the city of Harrisburg says about flood threats to get the most accurate and up-to-date data. If this minor scare became a real threat, meaning if the river stage reached 17 feet, the city would start delivering news flyers to mailboxes in Shipoke containing the latest forecast and helpful advice to prepare. Doesn't look like they'll need to do that this time, but I'll wait and see.