Flash Flood — Litchfield, Connecticut

1999-09-16 to 1999-09-17 · near Countywide, Litchfield, Connecticut

Wider weather episode

The remnants of Hurricane Floyd moved up the eastern seaboard on September 16 and during the early hours on September 17. The storm brought both high winds and exceptionally heavy rainfall to northwestern Connecticut, which included a large swath of 5 to 8 inch amounts. Specific rainfall amounts included 5.20 inches at Falls Village, 6.35 inches at Colebrook Dam, 7.89 inches at Bulls Bridge and 8.28 inches at Bakersville. The rain produced widespread flooding across the region , which proved very destructive. Significant flooding was noted on many tributaries, including the Housatonic, and Shepaug Rivers in addition to many smaller streams. The rains not only flooded many roadways but washed out portions of them. One of these washouts included Route 7 in several areas including the Veterans Plaza in New Milford. The Housatanic spilled over at Oxford and Sheltan resulting in as many as 35 families being forced to evacuate. Many communities declared a State of Emergency during the overnight of September 16 and 17. The rains, combined with the left-over rain from Tropical Storm Dennis, a week earlier, virtually ended the fourteen month drought across the region. Winds from the passage of Floyd were estimated to have gusted to over 60 mph across mainly the hilltowns. The combination of the wind and very saturated ground, produced widespread downing of trees and power lines across much of Litchfield county. Some of the trees fell on vehicles and houses. The rain and wind produced power outages across the region with as many as 5,000 left in the dark.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5718038. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.