Flash Flood — Oxford, Maine

2023-12-18 · near Swan Corner, Oxford, Maine

Event narrative

Major flooding of the Sunday River occurred on the 18th after an estimated 7 to 9 inches of rain and snowmelt ran off into the river. The resultant flow was estimated to be over a 0.2% recurrence interval with flows between 10 and 12 kcfs. The most severe damages were in the Sunday River resort region where a landslide caused damage to a recreational building and several roads were washout out. The flooding continued downstream to Bethel where a Route 2 bridge was flooded and access in and out of the region was cut off for days. Homes were flooded on Sunday River Road including several townhomes off Cherry Lane. Sunday River flooded a bridge and numerous other spots on Vista Road, Roderick Road, Bear River Road, and Sunday River Road, in Newry. Several roads were deemed inaccessible including Summit Road which was completely washout out with the loss of a large metal culvert. Bear River, a tributary to Sunday River also came out of its banks, washing away multiple parked vehicles, in Newry. Multiple water rescue was conducted for occupants of vehicles in flood waters on Vista Road.

Wider weather episode

Low pressure began organizing in the Gulf of Mexico on the 16th, setting record low sea level pressures as it traversed the Southeast through the 17th. Strong high pressure over the North Atlantic created a deep southeasterly flow that drew warm air into New England ahead of the approaching storm. By the time precipitation arrived on the evening of the 17th, temperatures were warm enough for rain everywhere except the highest peaks. Early on the 18th a shortwave trough was approaching from the Great Lakes and led to rapid deepening of the low pressure as it paralleled the Eastern Seaboard. Even as the center of the storm remained near Chesapeake Bay on the morning of the 18th, a strong low level jet had developed and winds began to gust in excess of 50 mph well inland from the coast. Damaging wind gusts continued into the afternoon. Hundreds of thousands of customers lost power due to falling limbs and downed wires. The anomalously warm air mass also led to intense rainfall rates beginning on the evening of the 17th, which continued into the 18th. Upsloping winds also enhanced precipitation along the southeast facing slopes of the mountains. Widespread 3 to 4 inches of rain fell, with isolated pockets of 6 to 8 inches. This fell on top of snow that was ripe from previous rainfall about a week earlier. An additional 2 to 3 inches of snow water equivalent was likely added to rainfall runoff. Numerous road washouts and road closures occurred due to flash flooding and fast responding small stream and tributaries. Widespread moderate to major flooding occurred along mainstem rivers. The storm destroyed 13 homes, caused major damage to 106 others, with an additional 65 homes receiving minor flood damage. Private damage was in the millions with public infrastructure damage of 20+ million being reported by FEMA.

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Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1151037. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.