A strong overnight storm that dumped more than 5 inches of rain in parts of southern Butler County kept homeowners and tenants on edge and firefighters on the go early this morning.

The torrential rain that hit about 1 a.m. quickly saturated yards and backed up storm sewers, causing water in basements and on roads from Cranberry Township to Clinton Township to points just north.

A spokesman for the Breakneck Creek Regional Authority this morning said the authority's rain gauge in Adams Township registered 5.2 inches overnight as of 8 a.m.

Another place that was hit hard was Zelienople.

"We got our first call at 1:45 a.m. After that, they kept coming one after another," said Rob Reeb, assistant chief for the Zelienople Volunteer Fire Department. "It was busy."

That first call in the borough was at the Hemlock Square apartment complex, where the parking lot flooded and water seeped into six units.

"(Tenants) got nervous," Reeb said. "They didn't know how fast the water could rise."

The brunt of the damage, however, was some badly soaked carpets.

Before long, cellars started flooding on McKim, Spruce, Clay and Spring streets. Zelienople firefighters had to pump out a half dozen or so basements.

At one home in the lower end of McKim Street, the water level measured 30 inches.

"That was the deepest we saw," Reeb said. "There was a lot of kid's stuff and toys stored in that basement."

Between 2:40 and 4 a.m., water-logged basements also were reported in Harmony, Cranberry and Adams Township and flooded roads in nearby municipalities.

"It rained so hard for three hours, it was unbelievable," said Chief Tim Sapienza of the Harmony Volunteer Fire Company. "It was a pounding rain, very hard."

Firefighters had to pump out two basements in the borough. For a time, roads also were closed at Spring and First streets in Harmony and the Scott Ridge Road and Route 19 intersection in Lancaster Township.

Flooding also was reported on Saxonburg Boulevard in Clinton Township and Park Road in Middlesex Township.

"I was expecting rain," Reeb said, "but nothing like this."

While the southern part of the county was socked with heavy downpours, the area around Butler was only lightly affected.

A spokesman for the Butler Area Sewer Authority in Butler Township said the authority's gauge only reached 1.33 inches for the 24-hour period ending at 7:30 a.m. today.