Go Back
  • For Business
  • |
  • Warnings
  • Data Suite
  • Forensics
  • Advertising
  • Superior Accuracy™
Tropical Storm Gabrielle forms over the Atlantic. See the track forecast. Chevron right
Ash stirring up on Mount St. Helens, read more here. Chevron right

Columbus, OH

87°F
Location Chevron down
Location News Videos
Use Current Location
Recent

Columbus

Ohio

87°
No results found.
Try searching for a city, zip code or point of interest.
settings
Columbus, OH Weather
Today WinterCast Local {stormName} Tracker Hourly Daily Radar MinuteCast® Monthly Air Quality Health & Activities

Around the Globe

Hurricane Tracker

Severe Weather

Radar & Maps

News

News & Features

Astronomy

Business

Climate

Health

Recreation

Sports

Travel

For Business

Warnings

Data Suite

Forensics

Advertising

Superior Accuracy™

Video

Winter Center

AccuWeather Early Hurricane Center Top Stories Trending Today Astronomy Heat Climate Health Recreation In Memoriam Case Studies Blogs & Webinars

Weather Blogs / WeatherMatrix

Harrisburg, Columbia Flood Comparison Photos

By Jesse Ferrell, AccuWeather meteorologist and senior weather editor

Published Apr 17, 2012 11:02 AM EDT | Updated Apr 17, 2012 12:24 PM EDT

Copied

In early September 2011, I took a series of flood photos in Harrisburg and Columbia, Pa. The trick with getting your flood photos to look impressive (especially devoid of structures) is to compare them to the same place when it's dry. If you don't, it's hard for the public to see the seriousness of the situation, especially if they are unfamiliar with the area.

So last weekend, I drove to some of the same places, with last year's photos on my cell phone, to attempt to take the same photo during dry conditions. It turns out, the river is near record low levels now (discharge shown above). At Harrisburg last September, we were seeing the fifth highest river level ever recorded, 25.17 ft. Now it's at 3.87 feet; the record low is 1.83 but 2.67 is in the top 5. A similar situation with near-record levels exists at Columbia (Marietta). Here's an example of the difference, in downtown Harrisburg at the I-83 exit:

Getting the same photo to cover the same area was more difficult than I estimated, even eyeballing it on my cell phone. Different cameras and slightly-different locations led to slightly different photos, but I think most of the ones below are close enough that if you hover over them to see the "new / dry" photo, you can get an idea for how high the flooding was:

I didn't even realize there was a path in the lower left (this is in downtown Harrisburg)!

Looks like they added a shed recently to this setup on City Island (looking towards Harrisburg).

The Rock Bass grill (on the other side of the river from Harrisburg) reopened even though they had water throughout the building during the flood.

Now, you Can Enter (at a park in Columbia).

This is from a scenic overlook in Columbia. Note the rocks in the river that you don't see in the flood photo. And now for a closeup... these people probably didn't think the water would ever get that high!

This is (ironically) a water plant in Columbia. Note the kids & cars in this year's photo.

Report a Typo

Weather News

video

Severe storms slam the central US with pouring hail

Sep. 16, 2025
Weather Forecasts

Final days of summer to bring heat and drought in eastern, central US

Sep. 17, 2025
Weather News

Arizona woman swept away, killed in late-night flash flood

Sep. 15, 2025
Show more Show less Chevron down

Topics

AccuWeather Early

Hurricane Center

Top Stories

Trending Today

Astronomy

Heat

Climate

Health

Recreation

In Memoriam

Case Studies

Blogs & Webinars

ABOUT THIS BLOG
WeatherMatrix
Jesse Ferrell
AccuWeather Meteorologist and Social Media Manager Jesse Ferrell covers extreme weather and the intersection of meteorology and social media.
  • Astronomy
    with Dave Samuhel
  • Canadian weather
    with Brett Anderson
  • Global climate change
    with Brett Anderson
  • Global weather
    with Jason Nicholls
  • Northeast US weather
    with Elliot Abrams
  • Plume Labs on Air Quality
    with Tyler Knowlton
  • RealImpact of weather
    with Dr. Joel N. Myers
  • WeatherMatrix
    with Jesse Ferrell
  • Western US weather
    with Brian Thompson

Featured Stories

Live Blog

Does this radar loop show insects or birds?

LATEST ENTRY

Expert debunks claim about weird weather radar

1 day ago

Health

‘Kissing bug’ disease is here to stay in the US, experts say

1 day ago

Travel

Flying cars collide at airshow rehearsal in China

10 hours ago

Recreation

The motor festival that turns the desert into something like ‘Mad Max’

1 day ago

Weather News

Dinosaur eggs from China found to be around 86 million years old

2 days ago

AccuWeather Weather Blogs Harrisburg, Columbia Flood Comparison Photos
Company
Proven Superior Accuracy™ About AccuWeather Digital Advertising Careers Press Contact Us
Products & Services
For Business For Partners For Advertising AccuWeather APIs AccuWeather Connect RealFeel® and RealFeel Shade™ Personal Weather Stations
Apps & Downloads
iPhone App Android App See all Apps & Downloads
Subscription Services
AccuWeather Premium AccuWeather Professional
More
AccuWeather Ready Business Health Hurricane Leisure and Recreation Severe Weather Space and Astronomy Sports Travel Weather News Winter Center
Company
Proven Superior Accuracy™ About AccuWeather Digital Advertising Careers Press Contact Us
Products & Services
For Business For Partners For Advertising AccuWeather APIs AccuWeather Connect RealFeel® and RealFeel Shade™ Personal Weather Stations
Apps & Downloads
iPhone App Android App See all Apps & Downloads
Subscription Services
AccuWeather Premium AccuWeather Professional
More
AccuWeather Ready Business Health Hurricane Leisure and Recreation Severe Weather Space and Astronomy Sports Travel Weather News Winter Center
© 2025 AccuWeather, Inc. "AccuWeather" and sun design are registered trademarks of AccuWeather, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Cookie Policy | About Your Privacy Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information

...

...

...