No dodging the deluge: Heavy rain, winds assault Valley

By Owen Boss

Staff Writer

NORTHAMPTON - Unseasonably warm weather Monday spawned a storm that dumped more than an inch of rain across the Valley, clogged local drainage systems, and translated to serious headaches for area pedestrians and motorists.

The storm, which prompted the National Weather Service to initiate a flood warning for Hampshire, Hampden and Franklin counties, was accompanied by strong winds for most of the day, produced more than 1.2 inches of rain locally, and swelled the crest of the Mill River to more than 10 feet - 4 feet above flood stage, according to the service's Web site.

Monday's high temperature of 57, officially recorded at Westover Air Force Base in Chicopee, shattered the local record for the date of 52, recorded in 1964, according to Brian Lapis, News 22 meteorologist.

"The core of Monday's storm essentially moved to our north and west and brought a ton of warm air with it, causing a pretty unusual situation for the month of January," Lapis said.

Ned Huntley, Department of Public Works chairman, said the real culprit Monday was the frozen ground, although he said any storm that produces more than an inch of rain in a small period of time holds the potential to cause urban flooding.

"Everything is still frozen solid, and on top of that earth is a fairly heavy snow that doesn't absorb a lot of water, so basically the woods and the fields around the city were acting as giant parking lots and that runoff water was just running to the lowest point, which are our roadways, collection systems, swamps and rivers," Huntley said.

In addition to melting existing snow, Huntley said rainwater running into local drainage systems took with it debris in the form of ice, snow and leaves that resulted in clogs across the city.

"What happens is, some of the snow gets flowing with the ice into our catch basins, and we end up with leaves, snow, ice and other material clogging them up," Huntley said. "And by the time we clear the debris out, the system just can't handle the sudden increase of water."

Huntley said DPW crews were kept busy most of the day clearing sewer drains and responding to a number of calls from residents dealing with flooding. By the time the storm subsided Monday evening, local streets quickly returned to normal.

Lapis said he expects to see rain showers and possibly scattered snowfall through the daylight hours today, but said local residents shouldn't worry about a repeat of Monday's flooded roadways.

Owen Boss can be reached at oboss@gazettenet.com.