Flood — Kennebec, Maine

2024-04-13 to 2024-04-15 · near Augusta, Kennebec, Maine

Event narrative

Heavy rain and snowmelt caused the Kennebec River to swell and flood portion of downtown Augusta. The USGS river gage exceeded the 12 foot flood stage a little after 1 am on the 13th and remained above flood stage through late morning on the 15th, cresting at 16.7 feet on the 13th. This resulted in flooding of Mill Park and basements of buildings along Water Street.

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 → (44.3175, -69.7741)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1177300. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.