Flood, Northern Middlesex
- When
- April 13, 12:00 PM EST to April 21, 12:00 PM EST
- Where
- Northern Middlesex forecast zone
- Reported by
- OTHER FEDERAL AGENCY
- Coordinates
- 41.451, -72.508 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flood in Connecticut, April 13 to 21, 2001
The annual melting of the deep snowpack in the upper reaches of the Connecticut River began in mid April, causing minor to moderate flooding in the Middletown area. 93 feet on the 17th, and then fell below flood stage on the 21st as colder temperatures slowed additional snowmelt.
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
- 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 OKX wrote it up.
The annual melting of the deep snowpack in the upper reaches of the Connecticut River began in mid April, causing minor to moderate flooding in the Middletown area. At Middletown, the river rose above its 8.0 foot flood stage on the 13th, crested at 10.93 feet on the 17th, and then fell below flood stage on the 21st as colder temperatures slowed additional snowmelt.
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 New York, NY wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 13, 9:15 AM EST, 2 hours 45 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Apr 13, 9:15 AM EST, 2 hours 45 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW YORK NY 1015 AM EDT FRI APR 13 2001 SATELLITE IMAGERY SHOWING A BAROCLINIC LEAF DEVELOPING OVER THE REGION. RAIN OVER EASTERN MD AND DE NOT FCST BY ANY OF THE MODELS I/VE SEEN INCLUDING MM5. BASED ON EXTRAPOLATION...MAIN RAINFALL EXPECTED TO STAY SOUTH AND EAST OF EASTERN LI. A FEW SPRINKLES FORM THE MID CLOUDS UNTIL NOON ARE POSSIBLE. BACK EDGE OF THE BAROCLINIC CLOUDS ARE TRANSLATING EAST AT 50 KTS. THIS PLACES THE CLEARING INTO WESTERN ORANGE AROUND 1530Z AND OVER EASTERN LI AROUND 1800Z. WILL ISSUE AN UPDATE TO CLEAN UP WORDING OF 1ST PERIOD OF ZONE. WINDS...SOUNDING AND ACARS DATA SHOWING A STRONG LOW LEVEL INVERSION. WITH FCST SOUNDINGS HAVING A DRY ADIABATIC LAPSE RATE IN THE LOWEST LEVELS THIS AFTERNOON...THIS ALLOWS THE WEST/NORTHWEST WINDS TO WORK DOWN (GUST) IN THE 20 TO 25 KT RANGE. MAX TEMPS FROM THE 12Z OKX SOUNDING WERE NEAR 80...BUT ACARS FROM EWR IS CLOSER TO 70. COLD ADVECTION THIS AFTERNOON WILL KEEP TEMPERATURE FROM REACHING THESE POTENTIAL LEVELS. WILL GO WITH THE CURRENT FCST HIGH DESPITE PRESENT TEMPS THAT ARE ABOVE THE LAMPS GUIDANCE TRENDS. NO MAJOR SYSTEMS IN TERMS OF PCPN FOR THE WEEKEND AND WILL LOOK AT THE EXTENDED FOR NEXT WEEKS DEEP EAST COAST TROF IN THIS AFTERNOON/S DISCUSSION. THIS TROF APPEARED YESTERDAY TO BE VERY CONSISTENT IN THE NCEP ENSEMBLES AND WAS 2 SIGMA BELOW MEAN. MARINE...WINDS WILL HAVE A HARD TIME WORKING DOWN DUE TO THE COLD WATER TEMPS. EXPECT 15 KTS WILL BE IT MORE THAN A FEW MILES FROM SHORE. BUT...WILL KEEP SCA UP AS GUST POTENTIAL IS THERE FOR 25 KTS NEAR SHORE AND LI SOUND WILL BE NEAR 25 KT. NOTE...DROPPED FLW FOR CTZ005-006 PER ALYS REQUEST. .OKX... CT...FLW FOR CT RVR CTZ007-011 (VIA WFO BOX). NJ...DENSE FOG ADV UNTIL 12Z THIS MRNG FOR NJZ002>006-011. NY...DENSE FOG ADV UNTIL 12Z THIS MRNG FOR NYZ069>081. MARINE...SCA FOR ALL WTRS...ANZ350-353-355-330-335-338. TONGUE
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
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
- Rip Current in Florida, April 13, 2001
- Flooding in Iowa, April 13 to 30, 2001
- Flood in New York, April 13 to 16, 2001
- High Surf in Hawaii, April 13 to 15, 2001
- Flooding in Missouri, April 13 to 30, 2001
- Flooding in Illinois, April 13 to 30, 2001
- Flood in Connecticut, April 13 to 20, 2001
- Flood in Vermont, April 13 to 15, 2001
- Hail in Iowa, April 13, 2001
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: 5239871.