Massachusetts, 2001

Flooding in Massachusetts, April 22 to 29, 2001

April 22 to 29, 2001 · NWS BOX · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

Additional rainfall and snow melt brought the Connecticut River back into a minor flood. 3 feet occurred at 8 am on April 24th (flood stage is 112 feet).

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 3 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

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
3

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.

Additional rainfall and snow melt brought the Connecticut River back into a minor flood. At Montague, the river crested at 30.6 feet at 2 am on April 24th (flood stage is 28 feet); at Northampton, a crest of 114.3 feet occurred at 8 am on April 24th (flood stage is 112 feet). Flooding was confined to riverside roads 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 22, 1:30 PM EST, 7 hours 39 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 22, 1:30 PM EST, 7 hours 39 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAUNTON MA
230 PM EDT SUN APR 22 2001

...MINOR TO PSBLY MODERATE FLDNG CT RVR ANTICIPATED...

TEMPS IN 70S ACRS UPR CT RVR BASIN HELPING TO ACCELERATE SNOW MELT.
ALTHO COOLING AT NGT...DAYTIME MON TEMPS LKLY AT LEAST TO 60S AND
PERHAPS INTO 70S AGAIN TUE TO CONT SNOW MELT RUNOFF.  WILL KEEP RVR
FLD WTCH UP FOR ENTIRE CT RVR REACH IN OUR CWA FOR NOW AND MONITOR
ACTUAL FLOWS LTR THIS AFTN/EVE...SPCLY MONTAGUE TO NORTHAMPTON.

WILL GENLY FOLLOW AVN...AS PER PMDHM...ALTHO ETA CONVCTN INDCTRS LOOK
CONSISTENT WITH AVN SYNOPTIC PTRN FOR TUE PM.  BOTH FWC AND MAV MAY
BE A LTL TOO CONSERVATIVE WITH HI TEMPS INLAND TUE AND APR A LTL TOO
WARM FOR CSTL HI TEMPS IN GENL.  WILL MODIFY ACCORDINGLY.

DRY CFROPA THIS EVE.  WNDS SHUD DMNSH BY MIDNGT. COOLER AIR MASS
MON...SPCLY E COAST MA WHERE SEA BRZ XPCTD.  SOME MID/HI CLDNS MON
AFTN...BUT BELIEVE MSTLY SUNNY STILL RSNBL WORDING.

MON NGT/TUE AM...MAY SEE SOME ST AND AREAS OF FOG FORM ALG S COAST
AS SW FLOW AND HIER DWPT AIR MASS TRY TO WORK NWD.

TUE...CHC SHWRS/TSTMS WITH APRCHG COLD FNT.  BOTH AVN AND ETA SHOW
INSTBLTY AXIS.  BEST CAPE ON ETA OVR SW ZNS.  SW ZNS MAY GET NR RR
QUAD OF 250MB JET.  BEST DYNAMIC SUPPORT THO...MAY BE TO S AND WELL
TO N.  WILL INDCT CHC POPS BOS-PVD LN AND W...PSBLY INDCT 50 PCT
POP WRNMOST ZNS.  ALTHO EARLY FOR MUCH CONFID...MAY HAVE SOME RISK
FOR ISOLD SVR WRN ZNS GIVEN LKLY TIMING OF PREFNTL TROF...INSTBLTY
AXIS AND 50 KT WINDS AT 700MB.

GETTING AN OPPORTUNITY TO DRY OUT FUELS BFR GREENUP.  THUS...FIRE WX
PARAMETERS BEING WATCHED MORE CLOSELY.  ALTHO LESS WIND AND COOLER
TEMPS MON...TUE MAY SEE TEMPS IN UPR 70S...BREEZY CONDS AND MIN RH
IN 30S.

MARINE...SCA CONTD ALL MARINE ZNS THIS EVE...THEN SHUD BE ABLE TO
DROP OVRNGT.  SCA MAY BE REQD AGAIN TUE IN SW GRAD AHEAD OF NXT FNT.

.BOX...SCA ALL MARINE ZNS.
       RVR FLD WTCH CT RVR FM N WALPOLE TO MIDDLETOWN CT

THOMPSON

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

3 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flood, Eastern Franklin

When
April 22, 9:09 PM EST to April 29, 7:00 AM EST
Where
Eastern Franklin forecast zone
Reported by
OTHER FEDERAL AGENCY
Coordinates
42.583, -72.592 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Connecticut River

Flood, Eastern Hampden

When
April 22, 9:09 PM EST to April 29, 7:00 AM EST
Where
Eastern Hampden forecast zone
Reported by
OTHER FEDERAL AGENCY
Coordinates
42.135, -72.632 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Eastern Hampshire

When
April 22, 9:09 PM EST to April 29, 7:00 AM EST
Where
Eastern Hampshire forecast zone
Reported by
OTHER FEDERAL AGENCY
Coordinates
42.340, -72.664 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

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 Massachusetts in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in Massachusetts, 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: 5237976, 5237977, 5237978.