Flood — Essex, New York

2011-04-26 to 2011-04-27 · near Wilmington, Essex, New York

Event narrative

Runoff from heavy rain and snowmelt caused flooding along the East and West Branches of the Ausable River, as well as the upper reaches of the Boquet River. The West Branch of the Ausable flooded route 86 between Lake Placid and Wilmington Village, and portions of River Road in Lake Placid. The East Branch of the Ausable flooded Route 9N from Jay Village to Ausable Forks, Carey Road, Straight Road, Clark Road, and Stickney Bridge Road. In Ausable Forks village, water flooded the Grand Union parking lot, and approached Garso Lane. The river gage on the East Branch of the Ausable River at Ausable Forks went above its flood stage of 7 feet at 20:57 EST on April 26, and crested at 10.20 feet at 05:30 EST on April 27. The Boquet River flooded Route 9 near New Russia. There were also numerous road washouts from smaller creeks and streams across the area.

Wider weather episode

Snowmelt from an above normal snowpack and daytime high temperatures in the 50s and 60s on the 25th and 26th, combined with rainfall of a half to one inch early on the 26th to set the stage for a significant flood event across the region. Late in the day on the 26th into the early morning hours of the 27th thunderstorms repeatedly moved over central and northern Vermont, dumping over two inches of rain into already saturated soils and swollen rivers and streams. Flash flooding during the overnight hours late on the 26th quickly transitioned into river flooding by the morning of April 27.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (44.4164, -73.8230)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 301864. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.