Flash Flood — Onondaga, New York

2002-06-14 · near North Portion, Onondaga, New York

Event narrative

Heavy thunderstorm rains caused flash flooding across northern Onondaga County. Rain started before 6 AM reaching its greatest accumulations of generally half an inch to an inch an hour between 9 AM and noon. During the afternoon it tapered off becoming scattered and less intense. Radar rainfall estimates exceeded 5 inches in a narrow band. Rain spotters in northern Onondaga County and an ASOS at the Syracuse airport in North Syracuse all had between 2 and 4 inches of rain. No spotters were in the area of worst flooding in Baldwinsville. In the village of Baldwinsville Tannery Creek overflowed. A state of emergency was declared at 1 PM. This shut down all of the streets in the entire village. Water in the streets was two to three feet deep. Water flooded an estimated 80 homes. Some of the homes had water filling their basements and into the first floor. 6 houses suffered major damage. A bowling alley in Baldwinsville suffered major water damage. The bowling alley was recently renovated and worth more than a million dollars. During the morning an eight block area was evacuated. The area was bordered by Route 31, Virginia Street, East Oneida Street, and Mechanic Street. Fires departments across the area were called in to assist local officials pumping cellars and businesses. They also sandbagged buildings to keep the water out. Elden elementary school closed early due to a leaky roof and high water. Other flooding was reported in Lysander, Clay, Liverpool, North Syracuse, and Cicero. Route 370 was closed in Lysander due to high water. In Clay, a plugged catch basin flooded a ballpark and Caughdenoy Road. Nearby streets had as much as two feet of water on them. Also in Clay high water was on roads including Route 31 and in Cold Springs. In Liverpool, the basement of Mother's Restaurant flooded. In North Syracuse, many roads had water on them but none had to be closed. In the town of Cicero, east Gillette Road, and Hogan Road were closed due to flooding. Also Beach Road and Thompson Road were flooded.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5305309. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.