Flash Flood — Tioga, New York

2011-04-28 · near Litchfield, Tioga, New York

Event narrative

Major flash flooding occurred in several areas of the county during the overnight hours on the 28th, especially along the State Route 38 corridor. The town of Owego had 1.5 million in damages to roads, five major stream crossings, ditches, culverts and road shoulders. The Town of Newark Valley had $800,000 in damages, including 50 homes that were impacted, as well as road washouts and closures. Schools were closed in the town due to impassable roads.

Wider weather episode

A significant severe weather outbreak developed across central New York as a storm system moved east from the Great Lakes. First, showers and thunderstorms developed early in the evening on the 27th, as an upper level disturbance approached the region. Two of the more significant storms included one supercell that produced a tornado in Steuben county, and a bowing line segment that caused tree and structural damage across Steuben, Chemung and Schuyler counties. Elsewhere across central New York, storms caused scattered wind damage and heavy rain.

After a brief break in the late evening, mini super cells developed overnight ahead of a cold front. Several tornadoes and severe thunderstorms developed between about 1:30 a.m. and 6 a.m., with many reports of damage. Most of the tornadoes were EF1 and EF2. Significant flash flooding also transpired during the overnight hours.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (42.0055, -76.4580)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 303352. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.