Flash Flood — Androscoggin, Maine

2023-08-08 · near North Auburn, Androscoggin, Maine

Event narrative

Heavy rainfall measured between 3 and 5 inches fell across southwest Androscoggin County on the 8th. The runoff caused significant flooding to a number of roads across Auburn, Poland, and Minot. West Auburn Road near Summer Street was flooded to a depth that cut off emergency access. Park Avenue, Lakeshore Drive, Broad Street between Witham and Hackett Roads, and Jackson Hill Roads also flooded and were closed due to flooding. In Poland, Bailey Hill Road flooded. Numerous basements were flooded in the Auburn area with water several feet deep.

Wider weather episode

An area of low pressure moved northeast from Massachusetts into Maine and New Hampshire on the morning of the 8th. The rainfall intensity increased during peak heating, with the heaviest rainfall from Nashua New Hampshire to Waterville Maine. Rainfall reports were highest across Cumberland and Androscoggin Counties in southern interior Maine ranging between 3 and 5 inches. After a break in the heavy rainfall, another round of scattered heavy rain showers developed in the late evening causing significant flooding in rural northern Franklin County along Rt 17. Following a very wet July, the water table and streams were all elevated prior to the rains on August 8-9th. The storage for additional rain was limited, which lead to widespread impacts. Flooding was most notable across these locations with numerous flash floods as streams and soil conditions were already swollen. Several streams came out of banks, as well as the Presumpscot River which reached minor flood stage.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (44.1610, -70.2542)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1131157. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.