Drivers and tow trucks scrambled to get cars off the Mon Wharf today as the river unexpectedly covered the Downtown parking lot, rising to nearly two feet at its deepest point.

The flooding was caused by heavy rainfall east and south of Pittsburgh, along with near-record rainfall in Pittsburgh yesterday, said Joe Palko, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

While the wharf flooding caught parkers and the Pittsburgh Parking Authority by surprise, the weather service this morning forecast the Ohio River at the Point -- including the area around the wharf -- would crest this evening at 20.2 feet. That's more than two feet above the level for flooding at the wharf.

"It wasn't like this was unexpected," Mr. Palko said. "This was something we predicted."

The parking attendant at the wharf began to advise motorists not to park by the guardrail around 8 a.m. But Dave Onorato, executive director of the Pittsburgh Parking Authority, said that his agency didn't realize the extent of the flooding until 11:30 a.m.

At that time, Mr. Onorato said that the Parking Authority immediately contacted a towing company and that they were attempting to tow all cars to nearby ramps and streets.

Many motorists heard about the flooding before the tow trucks arrived and rushed down to move their cars themselves, wading through shin-deep water.

From the top of the stairs around 1 p.m., Glenn Swoger could see water rising around his truck, the last vehicle left in the deepest water along the guard rail.

Mr. Swoger enlisted the help of a friend who was also rescuing his truck from the water. As his friend backed up the truck, Mr. Swoger stood on the flat bed, carefully keeping his balance as he opened the door of his truck and stepped in.

"I'm just happy I didn't get flooded," said Mr. Swoger, of Stowe. "If our friend's foreman didn't call while we were at our lunch break, we wouldn't have come down here until 3."

Through the help of his friend, Mr. Swoger was able to drive his car away without getting wet. But many other drivers were not so lucky.

Water oozed from Don White's black Reeboks as he stood next to his truck, which had also been parked along the guardrail.

Mr. White, a 43-year-old Verizon employee from Paris, Pa., was frustrated that nobody warned him about the flooding when he parked at 7 a.m.

"I probably won't park down here again," he said. "I'm too old to be walking around with wet feet."

Bob Gearhart, who owns the Cabela Cabana boat that sits docked at the wharf, probably got his feet the wettest of all.

His dog, Prince, lives on the boat, and Mr. Gearhart was concerned that he would be stranded on board.

Mr. Gearhart, who works in the trucking industry, drove an hour from Wintersville, Ohio, when he heard about the flooding through a phone call.

He put on galoshes and waded onto the boat to get Prince, a black lab. When Prince seemed hesitant about venturing onto the flooded wharf, Mr. Gearhart picked up the dog and carried him through the flooding.

"This was a crazy day," he said. "I usually watch the weather really carefully and this was a surprise for everybody."

More details in tomorrow's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.