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tropical system. We just had a pattern that supported tropical moisture coming out of the Gulf and Atlantic, a setup that dumped a season's worth (three months' worth) of precipitation over days." e power behind flash flooding brings additional concerns. "Our tributaries and watersheds have become more volatile—think of Ellicott City, Md.," Jumper said. "ey had a heavy rain event, a lot of development [meaning less green and more gray, impervious surfaces] further up the watershed, and a heavy rain event came down and washed out the town." More examples hit closer to home. "With Hurricane Ida, we saw Philadelphia's Vine Street Expressway filling up with water, and we saw Route 283 under water near Mount Joy in 2018," said Pratt, at the SRBC. "ese extreme events are going to overwhelm our existing infrastructure." Between 1978 and 2020, Susquehanna River basin municipalities received $832 million in FEMA flood insurance payments—"which actually makes it more interesting to think Hurricane Agnes isn't included in those totals," said Pratt. Within the Lower Susquehanna River Subbasin, four of the top five payments went to Dauphin County municipalities, including Harrisburg. In the capital city, flooding is typically triggered by three sources, according to Chief Enterline: the Susquehanna River, generally affecting Shipoke; Paxton Creek, which floods Cameron Street; and localized flooding primarily due to the city's "built environment," focused on Allison Hill, Market and Derry streets. "Just a localized thunderstorm can put the city upside- down," Enterline said. "Cars driving into standing water account for our highest volume of water rescue events every year—not water rescues in the river." Water woes are currently dominating western U.S. headlines, as climate change brings drought conditions to that region. Here in Pennsylvania, it might be easy to dismiss these things as NIMBY events—those "not in my backyard." But climate change adjustments across the nation and world are interconnected. "ere are concerns about the capacity of the Colorado River as a source, and that's concerning because, ultimately, that could impact things within the Susquehanna River basin," Pratt said. "It's hard to think about, but— recognizing the agricultural production that comes out of California— if that would go away, where does that go, and [if production relocates here] does that become a stress on our water resources?" SOLUTIONS Not all climate change news is gloom and doom. Every one of our experts cited hopeful solutions being studied and implemented to mitigate or adapt to climate change. Many are cited within the state's 2021 Pennsylvania Climate Action Plan, a DEP roadmap for reducing greenhouse gas emissions by hitting benchmarks in 2025 and 2050. e plan calls for a 26% reduction in Pennsylvania's greenhouse gases by 2025, over 2005 emissions. at would, in essence, take some of the wind out of climate change's sails. "We will meet that 2025 goal," said Byron, who led the plan's development and is currently launching work on the next iteration. "We publish a state inventory of greenhouse gases annually, and looking at that data—there's a little bit of a data lag—as of 2019, we had reduced greenhouse gases by 18%. e vast majority of the reduction in greenhouse gases has been in our electricity sector—we've reduced emissions about 40%—and that's largely due to switching from burning coal to burning natural gas in our power plants." On the emergency management side, Jumper, after serving as the first state meteorologist under PEMA, is moving to another newly created role as emergency management program manager for resiliency. "I'll be creating a playbook that helps us provide assistance to individuals, communities, counties and state agencies recovering from disasters," Jumper said. "Basically, how do we prevent, and then how do we get back on our feet after disasters such as flooding?" At the SRBC, Pratt is focused on improved and innovative forecasting and warning capabilities, including the debut of the 100-mile-long Susquehanna Floodwater Response System near Wilkes-Barre. He's also looking forward to the rollout of powerful new forecasting tools to better detect potential flash flooding, such as the National Weather Service's upcoming National Water Model. In Harrisburg, water rescue units are at the ready. "Over the past 10 years, we have invested tens of thousands of dollars into water rescue response boats and training equipment," Enterline said. In the meantime, a comprehensive project involving state, county and city officials has produced the Paxton Creek Master Plan, calling for the creek's de-channelization to decrease flooding and increase ecological benefits. e city is also writing grants to replace manual water gauges with city weather stations. What about the power of one—decisions within our own grasp? Jumper recommends all home or business owners consider flood insurance, even those not located in floodplains. Pratt encourages people to pay more attention to forecasts, recognizing there's uncertainty and danger in flash flood warnings, in particular. And then there's education. "What I do now is all about education and outreach," said Stacey Hanrahan, SRBC spokesperson. "Half of my meetings are about, 'How do we tell the public the facts about climate change in a way that makes them care?' And at the end of the day, sometimes that comes down to your wallet, through higher energy bills, farmers' growing degree days, environmental justice issues and how poorer communities are affected. And there's hope with the kids—they have more of an immediate concern, which is promising. At the end of the day, it all comes down to education." To hear more from Jeff Jumper about how PEMA is responding to climate change, tune into eBurg Podcast's March episode, available March 10. is is eBurg's second in a six-part, Pennsylvania- focused, climate change series by freelance writer Karen Hendricks, publishing through 2023. Flood risks are among the top three hazards in nearly every Pennsylvania county, in this map recently released by the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA). THREAT BY COUNTY Stories on environmental topics are proudly sponsored by LCSWMA.

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