Flood — Knox, Maine

2021-10-31 · near (rkd)rockland Arpt, Knox, Maine

Event narrative

Heavy rain with reports up to 6.5 inches fell in a short period of time lead to excessive run-off with numerous roads closed and damaged due to flooding in Knox County. The towns that were hardest hit included Appleton, Camden, Hope, Rockland, Rockport and Thomaston.

Wider weather episode

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.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (44.0700, -69.1000)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 989834. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.