Flash Flood — Oxford, Maine

2023-06-26 · near Andover, Oxford, Maine

Event narrative

Considerable flash flooding occurred in Andover on the morning of the 26th after 3 and 6 inches of rain fell along the south facing slopes of the Wyman Mountain. Abbott Brook was redirected and severely impacted Wyman Hill Road and personal property along it. At one stretch along Wyman Hill Rd, Abbott Brook was diverted and is running directly down the middle of the road. More than a dozen residents were impacted, leaving people without road access. The main bridge at Wyman Hill Rd and Cross Rd was washed out. There was also one water rescue in Andover as a vehicle got stuck in the flood waters. The runoff caused the Ellis River to climb above flood stage cresting at 17.29 feet.

Additional roads in Andover that sustained washouts were East B Hill Road and South Arm Road. The major thruway of Route 120 was closed from Route 5 to Roxbury Pond Road due to flooding out of the Ellis River.

Wider weather episode

Slow moving showers and thunderstorms associated with a broad area of low pressure moved across western Maine through the night of June 25th and into the morning of June 26th. Showers and thunderstorms repeatedly developed over the hills and mountains surrounding Andover and Byron in Oxford County, The extreme rainfall rates in hilly and mountainous terrain led to rapid run-off on multiple streams in the region. Maine. Localized heavy rain occurred in these areas with considerable flash flooding being reported. Showers and thunderstorms began in the Andover area around 2:30 am on June 26th. The storms intensified and spread across the mountains in the surrounding towns to include Byron and Roxbury. Rainfall rates peaked from 3:30 am to 6:00 am when the bulk of the heavy rainfall fell in the region. The showers and thunderstorms weakened and moved off to the north with just very light rainfall through 8 am before ending. Radar estimated rainfall amounts of 2 to 3' in Bryon and Roxbury with even higher amounts of rain in North Andover. Radar estimated a very localized area of rainfall of up to 6' of rainfall just north of town in mountainous terrain. The bulk of this rainfall occurred in less than 3 hours. The extreme rainfall rates in hilly and mountainous terrain led to rapid run-off on multiple streams in the region.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (44.6529, -70.7043)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1108946. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.