Tracking heavy rain across the Philadelphia region | Latest AccuWeather forecast

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — A powerhouse storm is expected to bring heavy rain to the Philadelphia region on Saturday.

A flood watch remains in effect, and our AccuWeather Alert is in place for the entire day.

Storm timeline

• About 2 to 4 inches of rain is expected.

• The heaviest rain falls from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

• By 4 p.m., the rain begins to taper off, but then it turns windy region-wide.

The greatest threat will be street and poor drainage flooding. Residents will also have to keep an eye on smaller creeks and streams, which can rise quickly.

In addition to the heavy rain, we’ll also be dealing with strong winds.

Late Saturday morning into the early afternoon ahead of the storm, winds along the coast could gust to 45 mph out of the east.

By Saturday evening into Sunday morning, winds will shift to the north on the backside of the storm, with 35-45mph gusts region-wide.

The combination of heavy rain, the wet ground and strong winds can lead to down trees and isolated power outages.

How the region is preparing

PennDOT crews spent Friday clearing storm drains and removing litter and debris because of flooding concerns.

“Whenever we know a big storm is coming in, we plan like we would like a snowstorm, except minus the plows,” said Robyn Briggs with PennDOT.

Crews are already monitoring the highways for issues, and PennDOT will have staff ready to go in case roads need to be closed during the heavy rain.

You can get real-time storm updates by using the 6abc app.

If you do need to venture out on the roads, you can find live traffic conditions at 6abc.com/traffic