An earthquake on Tuesday (August 23, 2011).
A hurricane on Saturday & Sunday (August 27-28, 2011).
And Little Crum Creek isn’t any worse for wear.
The earthquake shook ground up and down the east coast, felt here by some but not by others.
Meanwhile Hurricane Irene pruned a lot of leaves and dead branches along these banks, bent a few small trees, and flattened some weeds.
But, despite over 5 inches falling, the creek itself didn’t rise so high in the steady rain. Nor did Ridley Lake, just downstream in Ridley Park.
As a short stream, just over 3 miles long, Little Crum Creek is flashy and fills more dramatically in heavy rainfall over a shorter period of time. In fact, it rose higher in a storm nearly two weeks ago (August 15, 2011) than it did in Irene.
Surrounding streams, however, accumulating more runoff over greater distances, responded more dramatically to the hurricane. Darby Creek, Ridley Creek, and Crum Creek (into which the Little Crum flows) each flooded its banks in places.
Lots of folks stopped by the falls of Crum Creek, along Yale Avenue in Swarthmore PA, to see this unusually high flow of water over the old stone dam.
Hopefully, you can get a sense of the water’s response to Irene in this video of comparative views from the falls at different rates of flow:
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Today is sunny and calm.
Little Crum Creek resumes its normal variations.
New post in a couple days or so.
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some little crum creek 
January 2, 2012 at 11:14 am
What a week indeed!
I live in Ontario and nearly 2 years ago I drove through Pennsylvania on a road trip to Florida. I recall lunching in a delightful town named Harmony where my friend and I enjoyed eating on the patio of an old hotel in the historic town. As we’d left behind snow in Ontario, the detour was a treat.
And on the return trip, I believe we found another town (and I can’t recall the name) and while enjoying a lunch, met with and talked to a town “character” who filled us in on his memories of growing up in the area. I wonder if he found our Ontario accent as confounding as we found his Pennsylvania accent.
From your film, I think you are living in, or near to paradise.
January 6, 2012 at 3:01 pm
Sounds like a great trip, Mary. Pennsylvania’s a big, interesting, beautiful place. I must have driven near by Harmony a few times myself in years past but never stopped. That western horizon was always beckoning!
Paradise … I’m glad to give that impression. Within the small frames of my focus, I get a similar feeling and aim to share it. But I should add that, outside of those frames, Little Crum Creek is part of the lower Crum Creek watershed, a highly developed “urban” area whose waterways are officially deemed “impaired.” These posts, then, are my little witness to what is not yet lost, and what might yet be regained.
Now, I have also been up to Ontario a few times. And, if you ask me, skating for miles on Ottawa’s Rideau Canal feels pretty near to paradise too (if only sticks & pucks were allowed)!
September 5, 2011 at 8:24 pm
Glad that you weathered all that Mother Nature cared to throw your way!
September 6, 2011 at 10:46 am
Thanks. Some surrounding areas dropped trees, flooded some, and lost power anywhere from a few hours to a few days. We were lucky. I didn’t see anything like that along the banks of LCC.
September 1, 2011 at 11:37 pm
Great video… and impressive water volumes!
September 4, 2011 at 10:11 pm
Thanks … yes they were!
August 30, 2011 at 10:00 pm
Nice video. I especially liked the way you showed the comparisons. That water was pretty powerful!
September 1, 2011 at 7:02 pm
A person can usually stand under the falls and barely wet his ankles. The water after Irene swelled the level there well above anyone’s height. That is powerful.
August 30, 2011 at 8:32 pm
Was wondering how the LCC faired… Looks like I got more water in my basement than the creek did! The video and photos from the other commenter are reminiscent of the falls that I remember, not so much anymore. To much progress by one species me thinks. Hope all is well.
Bartleby, the Scrivener
August 30, 2011 at 9:19 pm
Sorry about the basement, Bart. Imagine my surprise behind the college the other day when I met a backhoe crossing Crum Creek. Have you seen the sewer project? Hopefully it’s an opportunity for some remarkable plantings when all’s done.
Jean Louis
August 29, 2011 at 4:06 pm
Scott,
Please enjoy these photos I took of Crum Creek after Irene. Note how much higher the flood waters were over the dam early in the morning (7:45am) compared to your video. It makes me wonder how it looked during the night.
http://bit.ly/nDbBhG
– Craig
August 29, 2011 at 5:12 pm
Hey Craig, thanks a lot for sharing these extraordinary pics on your Picasa page! I took my video at 1pm on Sunday, just over 5 hours after your shots. Judging the difference, do you think that during the night the water was even higher? If so, the dam would have been hardly discernible.
I especially appreciate those pics of a flooded Leiper Park. The road was closed, so I didn’t venture down. Old maps show a Leiper Pond in the same area (see my “Ramble” page). I imagine back then it must have looked something like your photographs.
Finally, those flooding pics of Smedley Park and the meadow behind Swarthmore College … they make my statement about creeks flooding their banks in places sound like a gross understatement.
Thanks again!