Flash Flood — Franklin, Maine

2024-04-12 · near Bigelow, Franklin, Maine

Event narrative

Heavy rain and rapid snowmelt caused Stratton Brook Pond Road in Stratton to washout from Stratton Brook overflowing its banks and flooding the road.

Wider weather episode

A cold front brought widespread soaking rainfall to the area. This rainfall combined with significant snowpack loss and saturated grounds to produce minor to moderate river flooding, with isolated flash flooding across the mountains. Repeated rounds of rain compressed, warmed, and ripened the area snowpack in advance of the heavier rain on Friday the 12th. The combination of rain, strong winds, and high dew points in excess of 50F over the ripe snow led to rapid melt with up to 4' water loss. Complete melt-out occurred below 2,000 ft. The ground was bare south of the foothills; however soils were saturated and offered little storage for runoff. Rainfall ranged from 1 to 2 inches for most of the region, with amounts of 2 to 3 inches in the mountains.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (45.1131, -70.3567)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1165095. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.