Flood, Jefferson
- When
- March 30, 7:35 AM EST to March 31, 11:00 PM EST
- Where
- Jefferson forecast zone
- Property damage
- $25,000
- Coordinates
- 43.999, -76.052 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flooding in New York, March 30 to 31, 1998
Unseasonably warm weather resulted in rapid melt of the snowpack on the Tug Hill plateau. The snowmelt combined with additional rainfall caused the Black River to rise over its banks and exceed flood stage at Watertown.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 2 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
- $50,000
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 2
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.
Unseasonably warm weather resulted in rapid melt of the snowpack on the Tug Hill plateau. The snowmelt combined with additional rainfall caused the Black River to rise over its banks and exceed flood stage at Watertown. Lowland flooding occurred both at Carthage and Castorland. The river remained above flood stage at Watertown through the first week of April.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
2 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Flood, Lewis
- When
- March 31, 7:00 AM EST to 11:00 PM EST
- Where
- Lewis forecast zone
- Property damage
- $25,000
- Coordinates
- 43.785, -75.449 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
What these are
- Flood
- Flooding that develops more slowly than a flash flood: rivers leaving their banks, or water standing over land for an extended time.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Flash Flooding and Flooding in Maine, March 30 to 31, 1998
- Tornado and Hail in Iowa, March 30, 1998
- Tornado and Hail in Arkansas, March 30, 1998
- Tornado and Hail in Oklahoma, March 30, 1998
- Flooding in Iowa, March 30 to 31, 1998
- Lightning Strike in Maine, March 30, 1998
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Oklahoma, March 30, 1998
- Damaging Winds in Texas, March 30, 1998
- Winter Storm in Nebraska, March 30 to 31, 1998
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Texas, March 30, 1998
- Flooding and Hail in Wisconsin, March 30 to 31, 1998
- Blizzard in Alaska, March 30 to 31, 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: 5630956, 5630957.