Flash Flood in Maine, April 24, 2001

Name: Flash Flood in Maine, April 24, 2001
Start: 2001-04-24T18:15
End: 2001-04-24T22:00
Location: Maine

April 24, 2001 · NWS GYX · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Temperatures in the 60s and 70s caused the deep snowpack to melt rapidly which resulted in minor flooding of the Swift River at Roxbury.

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

Open the live radar over this ground

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 GYX wrote it up.

Temperatures in the 60s and 70s caused the deep snowpack to melt rapidly which resulted in minor flooding of the Swift River at Roxbury.

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 Gray, ME wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 24, 1:18 PM EST, 4 hours 57 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 24, 1:18 PM EST, 4 hours 57 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAY ME
218 PM EDT TUE APR 24 2001

RATHER QUIET NEXT FEW DAYS AFTR FROPA THS EVNG...

CDFRNT MVG INTO WRN NEW ENG ATTM WTH ASSOC LN OF RW FRM KBGM INTO NRN
VT/NH...LAGGING BEHND SFC FRNT. LDS STILL NOT PICKING UP ANY
ACTVTY...BUT ECHO INTNSTY GRDLLY ON THE INCRS AND EXPCT AT LEAST SOME
TRW EMBDD WTHN THS LN AS IT MVS INTO NH/WRN ME. NOT TOO IMPRESSED WTH
LLVL MOISTR AS TDS ACRSS THE FA HANGING IN THE LOWER 50S WTH TEMPS
IN THE MID 80S ACRSS SRN NH. THIS WILL CERTAINLY BE A LIMITING FACTOR
AS THS LINE MVS EWRD LT THS PM. WILL CLOSELY MONITOR 88D FR SVR
CNVCTN AND PRECIP AMNTS THRU THS EVNG. CRRNT BASIN AVG QPF FCST NOT
EXPCTD TO ADD TO FLOODING PRBLMS BUT CNVCTV ELEMENTS WILL BE WTCHED
CLSLY.

INITIAL CDFRNT PUSHES OFFSHR ARND 00Z...BUT TRAILING SFC TROF AND
ASSOC RH WILL LINGER THRU 1ST HLF OF THE NGT...ESP IN MTN ZNS WHR A
FEW RW-MAY SQUEEZED OUT IN UPSLP. WILL INCLD CHC SPRNKLS EARLY ALL
ZNS BFR CLRG LATER TNGT.

HIGH PRES BLDS OVR THE RGN WED AND WED NGT WTH GNRLLY CLR SKIES AND
DECRSG WINDS...ALTHGH SEA BREEZE WILL AFFECT CSTL LCTNS BOTH WED AND
THU. LOW PRES FRMS OFF CAROLINA CST WED NGT AND SLOWLY MVS NE THRU
THU. MDLS CRRNTLY KEEP THS SYSTM S OF THE FA BUT CLD BE A FACTOR IN
THURS WX.

OFFSHR...WINDS CRRNTLY VEERING INTO SW AND WILL SHFT W INCRSG THRU
RMDR OF THE PM TO 20 TO 30 KTS WTH HIR GUSTS ESP ARND FROPA...BCMG NW
AND DMNSHG TO 10 TO 20 KTS BY AM.

GYX...FLW CT/WARNER/ANDROSCOGGIN/KENNEBEC RIVERS.
   ...SCA.
EJS

The radar

The Portland,ME radar (KGYX), 79 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 23:13 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, Oxford

When: April 24, 6:15 PM EST to 10:00 PM EST
Where: Oxford County, Roxbury
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 44.500, -70.757 (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

Every storm in Maine in 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings in Maine, 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: 5240973.