New York, 2000

Flash Flooding in New York, July 31, 2000

July 31, 2000 · NWS BUF · 7 events in 3 counties and zones

Slow moving thunderstorms developed over the western southern tier and parts of the Finger Lakes region. 0 inches fell in less than four hours onto already saturated ground.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 7 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$1.4 million
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
7

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.

Slow moving thunderstorms developed over the western southern tier and parts of the Finger Lakes region. Between 2.5 and 3.0 inches fell in less than four hours onto already saturated ground. In Jamestown, Chautauqua county, Routes 60 and 430 were closed for several hours as flood waters inundated them. In Salamanca, Cattaraugus county, which had experienced flash flooding just a couple of days before, the mayor declared a State of Emergency with no unnecessary travel in the city. The eastbound lanes of Interstate 86 were closed from Salamanca to Olean due to mudslides. Roads were flooded throughout the city. About one hundred basements were flooded. Three homes were destroyed while another sustained major damage. About fifteen people were stranded at the Red Garter Playhouse after a road washed out. In Ontario county, roads were flooded in Canandaigua. In Geneva, a mudslide pushed a cottage downhill and over the breakwall of Seneca Lake. The cottage, valued at over $100,000, was not salvageable.

The radar

The Buffalo radar (KBUF), 78 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 20:53 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

7 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, Cattaraugus

When
July 31, 4:00 PM EST to 4:29 PM EST
Where
Cattaraugus County, Salamanca
Property damage
$500,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
42.249, -78.679 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Chautauqua

When
July 31, 4:20 PM EST to 6:00 PM EST
Where
Chautauqua County, Jamestown
Property damage
$100,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
42.303, -79.406 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Cattaraugus

When
July 31, 4:29 PM EST to 11:00 PM EST
Where
Cattaraugus County, Salamanca
Property damage
$500,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
42.249, -78.679 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Chautauqua

When
July 31, 5:45 PM EST to 7:00 PM EST
Where
Chautauqua County, Sinclairville
Property damage
$50,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
42.303, -79.406 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Ontario

When
July 31, 5:50 PM EST to 8:15 PM EST
Where
Ontario County, Canandaigua
Property damage
$25,000
Reported by
AMATEUR RADIO
Coordinates
42.853, -77.300 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Ontario

When
July 31, 6:45 PM EST to 11:00 PM EST
Where
Ontario County, Geneva
Property damage
$150,000
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
42.853, -77.300 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Ontario

When
July 31, 8:15 PM EST to 11:00 PM EST
Where
Ontario County, Canandaigua
Property damage
$25,000
Reported by
AMATEUR RADIO
Coordinates
42.853, -77.300 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

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

More

Every storm in New York in 2000Every state in 2000This day in weather historyWarnings in New York, July 2000

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: 5163508, 5163510, 5163509, 5163511, 5163512, 5163513, 5163514.