Flood — Middlesex, Massachusetts

2010-03-14 to 2010-03-21 · near Holliston, Middlesex, Massachusetts

Event narrative

Each of the seven gaged mainstem rivers in Middlesex County rose above flood stage, the Nashua River at East Pepperell, Shawsheen River at Wilmington, and the Assabet River at Maynard all reached major flood. The Concord River at Lowell and the Shawsheen River at Wilmington set record flood stages.

In addition, several small streams went into flood, including the Charles River at Waltham and Cambridge, and the Aberjona River at Winchester. Damage from this river flooding, along with poor drainage and street flooding, resulted in a federal disaster declaration for this and six other counties in Massachusetts.

Numerous basements flooded in Weston, Newton, Natick, Watertown, Winchester, Billerica, Tewksbury, Lowell, Pepperell, and Concord. In addition, many streets were closed due to flooding in Waltham, Burlington, Wayland, Chelmsford, Lexington, Watertown, Acton, Arlington, North Reading, Sudbury, Winchester, Shirley, Natick, Holliston, Woburn, Wilmington, Framingham, Billerica, Groton, and Pepperell, including the interchange at Route 128 and Winter Street and several lane restrictions on Interstate 95 in Waltham. More than 700 homes and 25 city buildings in Newton sustained flood damage, including destroyed city files in the city hall basement.

Several apartments (about 20 people) in the 100 block of Linden Street in Waltham were evacuated due to flooding. Residents at the Gardencrest Apartments and a few at the Waverly Oaks Road apartments in Waltham were also evacuated. Roughly 150 people were evacuated from a public housing complex in Melrose. Tenants from 136 apartments on Beaver Street in Framingham were evacuated. While no evacuation orders were reported, at least one Billerica resident had to be rescued from their home by boat. In Winchester, homes on Brookside Avenue were evacuated.

Forty feet of rail bed was washed out between Chestnut Hill and Newton after a twelve foot deep, fifty foot diameter sinkhole developed beneath the MBTA green line tracks in Newton. Material washed out of the railbed travelled downhill landing in and around an office building on Glen Road. This resulted in 18 inches of mud and rocks in the first floor of the building and drifts up to 6 feet outside the building. Commuters were bused between the Newton Highlands and Reservoir stations. The Wilmington MBTA station was also closed due to flooding. A sinkhole on Church Street in Holliston resulted in the closing of that street. Emerson Hospital in Concord had water flooding its stairwells.

A neighborhood in Wilmington was flooded with four feet of water, four people were rescued by boat, 12 to 14 others were evacuated. A person was rescued from an apartment building on Pratt Avenue in Lowell that was flooded with four feet of water.

Collections at the Reading Public, Winchester Public, and Somerville Public Libraries, the Charles River Museum of Industry, and public records at the City of Newton were damaged by floodwaters. The Public Safety Complex that houses both the Fire and Police Departments in Wayland was flooded with nearly three feet of water, resulting in a power loss and damage to the boiler units and HVAC units. The complex ran on generator power for several days and without heat and air conditioning for several weeks while the HVAC units were being replaced. In North Reading, several schools and the Parks and Rec building at Ipswich River Park sustained water damage. Water overflowing the Moody Street Dam in Waltham flooded a retirement home and a museum.

Wider weather episode

A stacked low pressure system (surface low and upper level low on top of each other) moved southeast of Nantucket, spreading rain across Southern New England. This resulted in widespread rainfall totals of three to six inches. In eastern Massachusetts, a strong southeasterly low level jet pumped ample moisture into the area, resulting in rainfall totals on the order of six to ten inches. This resulted in major flooding across eastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island, including small stream, urban, and poor drainage flooding. In addition, the Concord River at Lowell, the Shawsheen River at Wilimington, and the Pawtuxet River at Cranston reached record flood stages within two to four days of the rain. The Governor of Massachusetts declared a state of emergency and this was followed by a federal disaster declaration for seven Massachusetts counties.

Strong winds associated with the low pressure system and the low level jet affected both the east and south coasts, resulting in numerous downed trees and wires and some minor structural damage to a few buildings.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (42.1848, -71.4276)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 217617. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.