Connecticut, 2001

Flood in Connecticut, April 13 to 20, 2001

April 13 to 20, 2001 · NWS BOX · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Minor to moderate flooding occurred along the Connecticut River from Thompsonville, downstream through Hartford to Middletown. Above normal temperatures produced rapid snow melt, and combined with heavy rainfall in the headwaters to bring the Connecticut into flood.

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.

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  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
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  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
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 BOX wrote it up.

Minor to moderate flooding occurred along the Connecticut River from Thompsonville, downstream through Hartford to Middletown. Above normal temperatures produced rapid snow melt, and combined with heavy rainfall in the headwaters to bring the Connecticut into flood. At Thompsonville, the river crested at 5.6 feet at 11 am on April 15th (flood stage is 5 feet); at Hartford, a crest of 19.2 feet occurred at 1115 am on April 16th (flood stage is 16 feet); at Middletown, a crest of 10.94 feet occurred at 8 pm on April 16th (flood stage is 5 feet). Flooding was limited to many riverside roadways and farmland, and no significant flood damage was reported.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Boston/Norton, MA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 13, 1:40 AM EST, 1 hour 31 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 13, 1:40 AM EST, 1 hour 31 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAUNTON MA
240 AM EDT FRI APR 13 2001

ETA AND AVN SHOW A FAIR AMNT OF MID LVL MOISTURE THIS MRNG...AND
EVEN ENUF UVV TO SUPPORT CHC -SHRA CAPE/ISLNDS THIS MRNG.  MID/HI
CLDNS AS DEPICTED BY STLT APRS FAIRLY SIMILAR TO AVN 6H FCST.  AIR
MASS DRIES W TO E LATE MRNG THRU MIDDAY. FAIRLY STG CAA AT
850MB...BUT COUNTERACTED BY AFTN SUNSHINE AND ACRS SE ZNS DWNSLP
WINDS.  PREV FCST HI TEMPS FOR TDA LOOK RSNBL...XPCT MINOR TWEAKING
AT MOST.  WINDS LATE THIS AFTN OVR MOST ZNS W 20-30 MPH WITH G40-45
MPH XPCTD FM WELL MXD LYR AS DEPICTED BY BUFKIT.  PRBLY NOT MUCH MXG
THRU MRNG BUT BELIEVE STG SUN WILL EVENTUALLY INCRS MXG DEPTH LATE
IN DAY TO TAP THOSE OCNL STGR GUSTS.  NOT QUITE SO STG CAPE/ISLNDS
TODAY. STGST WIND SPDS LATE AFTN/ERY EVE...THEN LESS MXG LTR TNGT...
XCPT FOR CAPE/ISLNDS WILL PRBLY KEEP 15-25 MPH ALL NGT AND CONT TO
MENTION BRZY ON SAT.

DRY THRU SUN NGT.  SAT TEMPS ABT 5F COOLER THAN THIS AFTN.  RISK OF
LATE DAY SEABRZ SUN ALG E COAST.

REDEVELOP OF TROF OVR NE US WILL LKLY BRING ANOTHER STRETCH OF BLO
NORMAL TEMPS NEXT WEEK.  AVN DEVELOPS SFC LOW FAR ENUF N TO SPARE
FCST AREA PROLONGED PCPN AS WELL AS REDUCE THRT OF ANY FRZN PCPN.
00Z AVN INDCTS THAT MON BEST CHC RA.  ENUF UNCERTAINTY ON WHERE SFC
LOW REFLECTION WILL TRACK TO KEEP XTNDD PORTION FAIRLY BROAD BRUSHED
FOR NOW.

HYDRO...CT RVR REMAINS IN FLD AT MIDDLETOWN AND HFD...AND WILL LKLY
REMAIN NR OR IN FLD FOR QUITE SOME TIME. WESTFIELD RVR BEING WATCHED
CLOSELY DUE TO NERFC MODEL PROJECTIONS...MAY NEED FLW DEPENDING UPON
06Z RFC RUN. MERR RVR ON RISE...BUT REMAING BLO FLD STAGE FOR AT
LEAST NXT SVRL DAYS.

MA:RINE...LOOKS LIKE SCA WINDS ALL WTRS.  DONT XPCT WINDS AS STG
OVR WATER AS LAND DUE TO COLD SEA SFC TEMPS INHIBITING DEEP MXG.

.BOX...FLOOD WRNG FOR CT RVR HFDC3-MDDC3 IN CTZ002.
       SCA ALL ZNS

THOMPSON

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flood, Hartford

When
April 13, 3:11 AM EST to April 20, 8:55 PM EST
Where
Hartford forecast zone
Reported by
OTHER FEDERAL AGENCY
Coordinates
41.819, -72.572 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Connecticut River

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

More

Every storm in Connecticut in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in Connecticut, April 2001

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: 5237973.