Flash Flood in York County, Maine

Heavy rain with up to 6.5 causes excessive run off in the city of Biddeford. The rapid urban run-off caused erosion on a retaining wall on the Saco River in downtown. This caused the wall to collapse into the river with extensive damage to the riverfront park area.

A rapidly developing area of low pressure tracked across the Southern New England coast and directly over Western Maine on the evening of October 30th and into the early morning hours of October 31st. Light rain fell during the day before moderate rain began overspreading the area by the evening. Periods of heavy rainfall occurred overnight, mainly within a 6 hour window. Widespread reports of 2 to 4' of rain were recorded in all areas except the Western Mountains. Coastal York, Knox and Southern Waldo Counties received 4 to 6' of rain with a few localized reports of 6.5+' falling. The heavy rain and excessive runoff led to widespread nuisance flooding, with damage reported in the areas that were hit with the heaviest rainfall amounts. River response on the preceding day led to minor river flooding, but the bulk of the flooding was due to flash flooding during the overnight hours. Rivers were elevated during and immediately after the rain ended, but most remained within their banks. Only minor lowland flooding occurred from riverine flooding. Flooding of smaller and faster responding streams and creeks in the hardest hit areas did damage some area roads and bridges.