Flood — Cortland, New York

2005-04-01 to 2005-04-06 · Cortland, New York

Wider weather episode

The Tioughnioga River at Cortland rose above flood stage of 8 feet late on March 31st. The rise was due to rain that fell on March 28th and increasing snowmelt leading up to the 31st. The water equivalent of the snow amounted to several inches. A slow moving storm from the Ohio Valley brought 2 to 3 inches of rain on April 2nd and 3rd. By the time the river fell below flood stage on the 6th, most of the snow had melted. This additional rain and snowmelt caused the river to rise to a crest of 14.07 feet at 2:00 PM EST on April 3th. This was a record flood crest at Cortland. The previous flood of record was 13.82 feet in 1950. Hundreds of buildings were flooded. Hardest hit were Cortland, Cortlandville, and Marathon. State Route 11 in Marathon was closed due to the flooding. Buildings there were flooded to the first floor.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5447458. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.