Flash Flood and Flood in New York, September 16 to 17, 1999

Moisture associated with the remnants of Hurricane Floyd moved north along a frontal boundary that was stalled from eastern Pennsylvania to New England. Rain developed over central New York during the predawn hours and became heavy at times throughout the afternoon and night as "Floyd" continued up the east coast. Before the rain let up during the morning of the 17th, four to seven inches of rain was common in the Western Catskills with other rain amounts ranging from three to five inches in the Mohawk Valley and Susquehanna region of central New York, and just over two inches in the central Southern Tier and Finger Lakes regions.Fortunately, due to the drought conditions that plagued the area over the summer months, these heavy amounts of rain were able to be efficiently absorbed by the parched topsoil. As a result, flooding was minor. No main stem river flooding occurred, but there were numerous accounts where small streams left there banks in Sullivan county producing several road washouts. A few roads were closed in Chenango county due to poor drainage flooding and ponding of water in low lying areas.