Flash Flood — Bradford, Pennsylvania

2006-06-27 to 2006-06-28 · near East Portion, Bradford, Pennsylvania

Wider weather episode

Tropical moisture continued to stream northward into northeast Pennsylvania ahead of a frontal system which slowly moved westward into the eastern Great Lakes by Tuesday morning the 27th. By Tuesday evening another more substantial area of heavy rain moved into the eastern half of Bradford County as the front moved back east and combined with a low pressure system moving up the eastern seaboard. This additional rainfall caused massive flash flooding by 5:50 pm EDT Tuesday through Wednesday at 3 pm EDT. Hardest hit areas were mainly in the eastern half of the county, including Sayre, Athens, Ulster, Sheshequin, Windham, LeRaysville, Herrick, and Stevens. Total damage was estimated around 25 million dollars. The flash floods caused 99 homes to be damaged, 1 destroyed. 12 businesses were flooded. There were at least 100 people evacuated from the flood waters. More than 50 roads were damaged and 2 bridges flooded. All the flash flooding in Bradford County combined with the heavy rainfall in upstate New York to send the Susquehanna River in Sayre and Athens to its highest level in history. At the Sayre/Waverly Gauge, the Susquehanna River crested at 22.52 feet Wednesday night which was 1.1 feet higher than the previous record set in March 1936. The levee system that protects Sayre and Athens held but 300 people were ordered to evacuate as a precaution. The river did flood the Athens sewage plant causing major water problems for Athens. Fortunately there were no deaths from this flood in Bradford County.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5516308. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.