Western Pennsylvanians watched warily on Saturday night as rivers filled or spilled over their banks in some communities, but emergency workers expressed relief as updated forecasts called for less-severe flooding than expected.

This weekend's storm trekked further south than predicted, dumping 2 to 3 inches of rain on central West Virginia south of the Cheat River, said Rodney Smith, a forecaster with the National Weather Service in Pittsburgh.

Had the storm's path been 50 or 75 miles further north, the heaviest rain would have gotten into the Cheat River and into snowpack in the higher ridges nearby, he said. That would have set up a far worse flood scenario for the Pittsburgh region where melting snow already has saturated the ground.

"We dodged a bullet," he said.

Instead of roughly 1 to 1.5 inches of rain falling by early today, the revised forecast now says the Pittsburgh area should receive about 0.75 inches of rain from the storm, Mr. Smith said. Flood watches along the Ohio River downstream from Pittsburgh were cancelled.

Had the weekend storm delivered as initially feared -- based on earlier, more ominous forecasts that the rivers Downtown could rise as high as 32 feet -- "there would have been no place for the rain to go but into the rivers, so we felt we had to be prepared. The risk was there," said Werner Loehlein, chief of the water management branch of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for the Pittsburgh District.

Still, residents and emergency management officials in flood-prone areas had their hands full Saturday night.

The weather service said flood warnings or watches remained in effect for a number of areas including Allegheny County, where the Ohio River in Pittsburgh held steady at 21.3 feet for much of Saturday.

The Mon Wharf, which floods when the Monongahela River rises to 18 feet, and a portion of Point State Park, Downtown, already were under water. The wharf will remain closed until at least Tuesday.

The weather service predicted the Ohio River will crest at 22.6 feet at the Point at 8 p.m. today, sparing the low-lying portion of the Parkway East known as "The Bathtub," which goes under water at 25 feet. But the 10th Street Bypass, which floods at 22 feet, is expected to be affected by this morning.

Among the areas under flood warnings Saturday night:

The Youghiogheny River at Sutersville, affecting Allegheny and Westmoreland counties; the Youghiogheny River at Connellsville, affecting Fayette County; the Conemaugh River at Seward, affecting Indiana and Westmoreland counties, and the Cheat River at Rowlesburg, W.Va., affecting Preston County.

Mr. Smith said the Conemaugh at Seward still faces the potential for major flooding. The river there was expected to exceed 16 feet by 7 a.m. today, 4 feet above flood stage. By Saturday afternoon, it already stood at 13.8 feet, causing officials to shut down nearby Route 56.

The Youghiogheny at Connellsville was expected to reach 15.4 feet, 3.4 feet above flood stage. By Saturday evening, it was at 13.3 feet, Mr. Smith said. County emergency management officials also reported basement flooding in Connellsville and in Uniontown.

The rising river also forced the evacuation of the Pam Miller, Katie Miller and Deneen Miller personal care homes in Confluence, Somerset County. Between 45 and 50 residents sought shelter Saturday night at Turkey Foot High School after access roads leading to those facilities became flooded.

At Sutersville in Westmoreland County, the Youghiogheny had surpassed 17 feet and was expected to reach 21.4 feet by this afternoon, 1.4 feet over flood stage, Mr. Smith said.

At about 5:30 p.m., Brian Stewart of Gratztown, 21/2 miles downstream from West Newton on the Yough, reported 1 inch of water in his basement. His is among the lowest lying homes in this strip of houses along the river's west bank and is usually one of the first to take on water.

"I've got the sump pump going in the basement. This isn't bad," he said.

In Allegheny County, Kevin Evanto, a spokesman for County Executive Dan Onorato emerged from a mid-afternoon briefing with forecasters to say it looked unlikely that officials would need to declare a state of emergency.

In the county, he said, "it looks like the Yough and the Mon are doing pretty well. They still are saying Elizabeth Township may go a little over flood stage."

By last night, the Little Boston area of Elizabeth Township was flooding, as were areas in South Versailles.At the Boston Waterfront Restaurant in Little Boston, more than a foot of water had seeped inside and was still rising, Mr. Evanto said. Murky water had crept up around 20 feet past the building, covering the parking lot and patio and turning gazebos into wooden islands.

In general, though, Allegheny County was seeing a far less severe scenario unfolding than during the January flood of 14 years ago when the river stage at Pittsburgh reached a crest of 34.6 feet at the Point.

"They were talking 1996 levels, and we're not going to be anywhere near that, so I think that's pretty good news," Mr. Evanto said.

Mr. Smith from the weather service said flooding in specific locations will still be influenced in part by how much rain falls in those areas overnight. Further north, French Creek near Meadville,Venango County,is expected to reach flood stage today, he added.

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