Flooding in New York, January 19 to 20, 1996

An intense area of low pressure which was located over the Mid-Atlantic region on Friday morning January 19th produced unseasonably warm temperatures, high dewpoints and strong winds. This resulted in rapid melting of one to three feet of snow. In addition to the rapid snowmelt one to three inches of rain fell as the system moved northeast along the coast. This resulted in widespread flooding across Herkimer County including the Mohawk River and Fulmer Creek. Federal Disaster Assistance was made available by presidential declaration. Some of the most severe flooding occurred in the German Flats were 100 people had to be evacuated as the Mohawk River and Fulmer Creek flooded. Many roads were also washed out in this area. River Road along the Mohawk River was also severely flooded with several homes destroyed. In Little Falls over 1.25 million dollars worth of damage occurred including damaged paper machines at the Burrows Paper Corp.. In Mohawk flooding was also extensive as the Fulmer Creek rose over its banks. Other routes in the county that were closed due to flooding included route 5 from Little Falls to Herkimer, route 169 across the Wind Bridge, route 168 near Mohawk and routes 51 and 20 in the Town of West Windfield.