Flood — Northern Washington, New York

1996-01-19 to 1996-01-20 · Northern Washington, New York

Wider weather episode

An intense area of low pressure which was located over the Mid-Atlantic region on Friday morning January 19th produced unseasonably warm temperatures, high dewpoints and strong winds. This resulted in rapid melting of one to three feet of snow. In addition to the rapid snowmelt one to three inches of rain fell as the system moved northeast along the coast. Small streams flooded across the entire county which resulted in many roads being washed out. More than 30 roads were heavily damaged across Washington County. The damaged roads included routes 372, 74, 59, 29, 372 and county route 16 in Fort Ann. Fort Ann in the northern part of the county was one of the hardest hit areas. Many homes in South Cambridge were flooded and in Salem several residents were evacuated. Also two large sections of the Battenkill Railroad were damaged as the tracks slid into the Battenkill River.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5553579. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.