Flash Flood, Clinton
- When
- March 28, 3:50 PM EST to March 31, 11:59 PM EST
- Where
- Clinton County, Countywide
- Property damage
- $250,000
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 44.746, -73.678 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flash Flood in New York, March 28 to 31, 1998
Unseasonably warm weather resulted in dramatic snowmelt with rapid rises on rivers the last few days of March. In addition, showers and thunderstorms with heavy downpours moved across the area on the 30th aggravating the flooding.
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
- $250,000
- 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 BTV wrote it up.
Unseasonably warm weather resulted in dramatic snowmelt with rapid rises on rivers the last few days of March. In addition, showers and thunderstorms with heavy downpours moved across the area on the 30th aggravating the flooding. Among the streams and rivers flooding were the Great Chazy which began flooding at 350 pm est Saturday March 28 and the Saranac River which began flooding at 8 AM Sunday March 29th. These rivers continued to exceed flood stage through the end of the month with road closures. By March 30th, road washouts were especially severe in the towns of Chazy, Altona, Champlain, Mooers and Ellenburg. By late Sunday (March 29), a state of emergency was declared in the county especially for the towns of Ellenburg and Champlain.
The radar
The Burlington radar (KCXX), 48 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 20:48 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
- Flash Flood in Arizona, March 28, 1998
- Heavy Snow and Hail in California, March 28 to 29, 1998
- Tornado in Illinois, March 28, 1998
- Flood and Hail in California, March 28 to 31, 1998
- Tornado and Damaging Winds in Michigan, March 28, 1998
- High Wind in Ohio, March 28, 1998
- High Wind in New York, March 28, 1998
- Flash Flood in Vermont, March 28 to 31, 1998
- Tornadoes and Damaging Winds in Indiana, March 28, 1998
- Damaging Wind in Illinois, March 28, 1998
- Heavy Snow in Montana, March 28 to 29, 1998
- High Wind in New York, March 28, 1998
More
Every storm in New York in 1998Every state in 1998This day in weather historyWarnings in New York, March 1998
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: 5656838.