Flash Flood, Erie
- When
- February 5, 6:30 AM EST to 2:00 PM EST
- Where
- Erie County, West Seneca
- Property damage
- $20,000
- Coordinates
- 42.758, -78.780 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flash Flood in New York, February 5, 1997
An ice jam on the Cazenovia Creek was already in place. Runoff from the previous night's rainfall rose behind the jam causing flooding along the creek.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $20,000
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 1
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
What happened
The episode as NWS BUF wrote it up.
An ice jam on the Cazenovia Creek was already in place. Runoff from the previous night's rainfall rose behind the jam causing flooding along the creek. A few roads were closed because of the flood waters. Basement flooding was also reported.
The radar
The Buffalo radar (KBUF), 21 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 11:27 UTC.
Event by event
1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Flash Flood
- Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Heavy Snow in Utah, February 5 to 6, 1997
- Winter Storm in Nebraska, February 5 to 7, 1997
- Dense Fog in Montana, February 5 to 6, 1997
- Heavy Snow in Colorado, February 5 to 7, 1997
- Winter Storm in New Hampshire, February 5, 1997
- Winter Storm in Kansas, February 5 to 7, 1997
- Winter Storm in Maine, February 5, 1997
- Heavy Snow in New Mexico, February 5 to 6, 1997
- Flash Flood in Pennsylvania, February 5, 1997
- Flash Flood in Pennsylvania, February 5, 1997
- Flood in Kentucky, February 5 to 7, 1997
- Flood in Kentucky, February 5 to 7, 1997
More
Every storm in New York in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in New York, February 1997
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5588564.