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October 1, 1999            Gary Firda                            518-285-5671                518-285-5601

 

Flooding in Eastern New York from Tropical Storm Floyd

Flooding occurred in several parts of Eastern New York during September 16 -18 as a result of heavy rainfall from Tropical Storm Floyd.  The Hackensack River crested at a record 11.2 feet and 1,740 cubic feet per second (ft3/s) at West Nyack on September 17 -- the highest since 1958 or earlier.   This corresponds to about a 50-year flood-recurrence interval .  (A 50-year flood is a flood that has a 1 in 50 chance of being exceeded in any given year, but the occurrence of a 50-year flood does not decrease the chances of its happening again in the near future.)  Several U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) crews were moved into southeastern New York before the storm to be ready to measure the anticipated high streamflows.  The table below lists some of the peak stages, discharges, and flood-recurrence intervals they documented.  USGS crews will be in the field this week and next to document high-water levels at many locations in southeastern New York.  See our web page, http://ny.usgs.gov for more details as data come in and also for real-time streamflow data from sites across New York State.

Streamflows before this storm were at or near record-low levels due to the severe drought (see the End-Of-Month Summaries).  These low-flow conditions resulted in some reduction in the peak flows that might otherwise have occurred in many streams, but the magnitude and intensity of the rain caused many streams  (especially smaller streams) in Eastern New York to flood.  

Station No. Station Name Drainage Area in mi2 Period of record

* discontinued site

 Stage in feet Discharge in ft3/s Recurrence Interval in years
01359902 COEYMANS CREEK NEAR SELKIRK NY 35.1 11* 11.4 4800 100
01375000 CROTON RIVER @ NEW CROTON DAM NR CROTON-ON-HUDSON NY 378 66 12.64 20300 70
01387400 RAMAPO RIVER AT RAMAPO NY 86.9 20 12.68 9150 70
01387420 RAMAPO RIVER AT SUFFERN NY 93 20 15.23

 10200

 70
01376800 HACKENSACK RIVER AT WEST NYACK NY 30.7 41 11.2 1740 60
01374250 PEEKSKILL HOLLOW CR AT TOMPKINS CORNERS NY 14.9 24 6.01

1500

>50
01359924 HANNICROIS CREEK NR NEW BALTIMORE NY 61.6 10* 6.7 2700 40
01349850 BATAVIA KILL AT HENSONVILLE NY 13.3 30* 5.3 2170 30
01361900 SHINGLE KILL AT CAIRO NY 13.9 21* 10.72 3540 30
01350000 SCHOHARIE CREEK AT PRATTSVILLE NY 237 97 17.65 42800 20
01350080 MANOR KILL AT WEST CONESVILLE NEAR GILBOA NY 32.4 13 9.04 4100 15
01359528 NORMANS KILL AT ALBANY NY 168 10 13.5 11800 15
01361500 CATSKILL CREEK AT OAK HILL NY 98 60 13.13 9970 15
01372800 FISHKILL CREEK AT HOPEWELL JUNCTION NY 57.3 29 9 2370 15

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