New York, 2003

Flooding in New York, March 21 to 28, 2003

March 21 to 28, 2003 · NWS BGM · 5 events in 5 counties and zones

Mild temperatures starting on the 15th caused winter snow to melt. Overnight temperatures mainly in the 20s and 30s slowed the snowmelt down each night.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 5 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
$190,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
5

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 BGM wrote it up.

Mild temperatures starting on the 15th caused winter snow to melt. Overnight temperatures mainly in the 20s and 30s slowed the snowmelt down each night. The larger rivers began rising on the 17th. Rain fell on the 20th with basin averaged amounts ranging from three quarters of an inch to an inch and a half. This rain combined with the snow melt brought several forecast points on the Susquehanna, Tioughnioga, and Chenango over their flood stages. The Susquehanna River at Waverly, NY and Sayre, PA reached flood stage of 11 feet on the 21st, crested at 14.17 feet on the 23rd then fell below flood stage on the 26th. The Susquehanna River at Vestal reached flood stage of 18 feet on the 21st, crested at 21.01 feet on the 23rd, then fell below flood stage on the 25th. The Susquehanna River at Conklin reached flood stage of 11 feet on the 21st, crested at 14.74 feet on the 23rd, then fell below flood stage on the 28th. The Susquehanna River at Bainbridge reached flood stage of 13 feet on the 21st, crested at 17.66 feet on the 23rd then fell below flood stage on the 28th. The Susquehanna River at Unadilla reached flood stage of 11 feet on the 22nd, crested at 11.46 feet also on the 22nd, then fell below flood stage on the 24th. The Chenango River at Sherburne reached flood stage of 8 feet on the the 21st, crested at 9.08 feet on the 22nd, then fell below flood stage on the 24th. The Chenango River at Greene reached flood stage of 13 feet on the 22nd, crested at 13.15 feet also on the 22nd, then fell below flood stage on the 23rd. The Tioughnioga River at Cortland reached flood stage of 8 feet on the 21st, crested at 9.32 feet on the 22nd, then fell below flood stage on the 24th. Flooding was moderate at Vestal and Conklin on the Susquehanna River, and Sherburne on the Chenango River. All other river forecast points mentioned had minor flooding.

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 Binghamton, NY wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 20, 8:30 PM EST, 4 hours 43 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 20, 8:30 PM EST, 4 hours 43 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BINGHAMTON NY
830 PM EST THU MAR 20 2003

RADAR AND SATELLITE TRENDS SHOW SLUG OF STEADY MODERATE RAIN WILL BE
LIFTING THROUGH THE SOUTHERN HALF OF THE FCST AREA BY LATE EVENING
AND THROUGH ALL AREAS SHORTLY AFTER MIDNIGHT. 18Z ETA/AVN AND 21Z RUC
MODELS CONCUR THAT SHORTWAVE FORCING DRIVING THIS PRECIP EXITS THE
AREA ON THAT SCHEDULE.

6 HOUR QPF AMOUNTS THROUGH 00Z FELL A LITTLE SHORT OF MODEL FCSTS
ESPLY NORTHERN ZONES. 00Z-06Z PROGS WILL ALSO BE OVERDONE PER
CURRENT TRENDS AND GUAGE REPORTS SO WILL BRING QPF GRID FCSTS DOWN
CONSIDERABLY. THIS IS GOOD NEWS FOR ALLEVIATING THE FLOOD IMPACT.
GIVEN HIGH ANTECEDENT CONDITIONS...WARMING TEMPS BEHIND THE WARM
FRONT AND SHOWERS TOMORROW...WE STILL SHOULD SEE RAIN RUNOFF COMBINE
WITH SNOW MELT RELEASING FROM THE WOODS. THE GENERALIZED FLOOD WATCH
FOR SMALL STREAMS AND TRIBS WILL CONTINUE AS ADVERTISED. FLOOD
WARNINGS ALONG THE RIVER POINTS WILL ALSO REMAIN IN TACT...UNLESS
NUMBERS AT SOME OF THE FCST POINTS LOWER DRAMATICALLY GIVEN THE
LOWER OVERALL RAIN TOTALS. MARFC...I LIKE YOUR NEW 00Z QPF PROGS.

UPDATE TO FORECAST GRIDS AND WORDS WILL BE TO JUST ADJUST TIMING OF
STEADY RAIN DWINDLING TO SHOWERS IN THE NEXT FEW HOURS.

.BGM...FLOOD WATCH ALL OF CENTRAL NEW YORK AND NE PA INTO
       FRIDAY.

BREWSTER

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

5 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flood, Tioga

When
March 21, 1:13 AM EST to March 26, 7:00 PM EST
Where
Tioga forecast zone
Property damage
$50,000
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
42.170, -76.306 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Broome

When
March 21, 1:56 AM EST to March 28, 5:00 AM EST
Where
Broome forecast zone
Property damage
$50,000
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
42.160, -75.820 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Chenango

When
March 21, 9:28 AM EST to March 28, 5:58 AM EST
Where
Chenango forecast zone
Property damage
$50,000
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
42.494, -75.612 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Cortland

When
March 21, 6:58 PM EST to March 24, 6:13 AM EST
Where
Cortland forecast zone
Property damage
$20,000
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
42.595, -76.070 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Otsego

When
March 22, 9:35 AM EST to March 24, 6:15 AM EST
Where
Otsego forecast zone
Property damage
$20,000
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
42.634, -75.033 (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 New York in 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings in New York, March 2003

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: 5350227, 5350223, 5350224, 5350225, 5350226.