A potent area of low pressure and its associated frontal systems, moved northeast across the Ohio and Saint Lawrence Valleys on the 28th of March, bringing with it a significant amount of moisture. Since it took a more western track than previous storms earlier in the month, almost all of the precipitation fell as rain.
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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.
The episode as NWS ALY wrote it up.
A potent area of low pressure and its associated frontal systems, moved northeast across the Ohio and Saint Lawrence Valleys on the 28th of March, bringing with it a significant amount of moisture. Since it took a more western track than previous storms earlier in the month, almost all of the precipitation fell as rain. Rainfall totals, averaging 1-2 inches, but locally as high as 4 inches, accumulated across portions of the eastern New York and adjacent western New England. This rainfall, combined with snow melt, produced signficant runoff, resulting in widespread flooding across the region between March 28th through 31st. Many streams and rivers reached or exceed bankful, including the Mettawee, Housatonic and Mohawk Rivers, as well as the Esopus, Wappingers and Schoharie Creeks. Numerous houses in Columbia and Greene Counties sustained damage when their basements became flooded, and there were many reports of road closures across a large number of counties. One man in the city of Mechanicville, Saratoga County, was transported to a local hospital after being swept away by floodwaters of the Anthony Kill. In Columbia County, many towns reported at least one road closed due to flooding.
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 Albany, NY wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 29, 9:25 PM EST, 2 hours 35 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBANY NY 925 PM EST TUE MAR 29 2005 .SHORT TERM...(TONIGHT)...MOSTLY CLEAR NIGHT WITH CIRRUS CLOUDS STREAMING OVERHEAD. RIDGE BUILDS IN AND WINDS WEAKEN. TWEAKED HOURLY TEMP TRENDS AND WINDS. OTHERWISE...OVERNIGHT LOWS LOOK FINE. && .LONG TERM (WEDNESDAY THROUGH TUESDAY)...ANOTHER ROUND OF HEAVY RAIN POSSIBLY THIS WEEKEND. SEE PREVIOUS DISCUSSION. && .AVIATION...VFR THROUGH PERIOD...00Z/THU. CIRRUS CLOUDS STREAM OVERHEAD. WINDS WEAKEN AS RIDGE BUILDS IN. RIDGE AXIS MOVES ACROSS FORECAST AREA WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON/EVENING. WITH TEMP/DEW POINT SPREAD AND LIGHT N-NE FLOW FOG SHOULD NOT BE A PROBLEM...LOCALIZED. && .HYDROLOGY...CONTINUE TO KEEP AN EYE A FEW LOCATIONS IN FLOOD. IN NEW YORK WAPPINGERS AND SCHOHARIE CREEKS HOLDING RIGHT AROUND FLOOD STAGE. MORE SERIOUS FLOOD PROBLEMS ARE OCCURRING ALONG THE HOUSATONIC BASIN IN CONNECTICUT. STILL RIVER AT BROOKFIELD HAS DROPPED BELOW FLOOD STAGE. SEE LATEST WARNINGS/STATEMENTS FOR DETAILS. SNOW MELT WILL CONTINUE WILL MILD TEMPS. DRIER AIR TONIGHT THROUGH MUCH OF THURSDAY WILL ALLOW FOR SOME DRYING AND FOR RIVERS TO RECEDE...BUT NOT ENOUGH TO AVOID SIGNIFICANT FLOOD PROBLEMS ONCE AGAIN IF THE FORECASTED HEAVY PCPN FOR LATE THIS WEEK AND THIS WEEKEND MATERIALIZES. WITH CURRENT FLOOD PROBLEMS STILL ONGOING...WILL NOT ISSUE A FLOOD OUTLOOK AT THIS TIME FOR THE NEXT EVENT. WILL LIKELY NEED TO DO SO WEDNESDAY IF MODEL FORECASTS CONTINUE TO POINT TOWARD ANOTHER BOUT OF HEAVY RAINS. && .ALY WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... CT...FLOOD WARNINGS FOR THE HOUSATONIC RIVER. MA...NONE. NY...FLOOD WARNINGS FOR SCHOHARIE AND WAPPINGERS CREEKS. VT...NONE.
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBANY NY 400 PM EST TUE MAR 29 2005 CTZ001-013-MAZ001-025-NYZ038>041-043-047>054-058>061-063>066-082>084- VTZ013>015-301200- BENNINGTON VT-EASTERN ALBANY NY-EASTERN COLUMBIA NY- EASTERN DUTCHESS NY-EASTERN GREENE NY-EASTERN RENSSELAER NY- EASTERN SCHENECTADY NY-EASTERN ULSTER NY-EASTERN WINDHAM VT- MONTGOMERY NY-NORTHERN BERKSHIRE MA-NORTHERN FULTON NY- NORTHERN LITCHFIELD CT-NORTHERN SARATOGA NY-NORTHERN WASHINGTON NY- SCHOHARIE NY-SOUTHEAST WARREN NY-SOUTHERN BERKSHIRE MA- SOUTHERN FULTON NY-SOUTHERN HERKIMER NY-SOUTHERN LITCHFIELD CT- SOUTHERN SARATOGA NY-SOUTHERN WASHINGTON NY-WESTERN ALBANY NY- WESTERN COLUMBIA NY-WESTERN DUTCHESS NY-WESTERN GREENE NY- WESTERN RENSSELAER NY-WESTERN SCHENECTADY NY-WESTERN ULSTER NY- WESTERN WINDHAM VT- 400 PM EST TUE MAR 29 2005 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EASTERN NEW YORK AND ADJACENT WESTERN NEW ENGLAND...EXCLUDING THE SOUTHERN ADIRONDACK REGION. .DAY ONE... NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED WEDNESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY...OR FOR SUNDAY OR MONDAY. HOWEVER...A STORM HAS THE POTENTIAL TO BRING ANOTHER ROUND OF HEAVY RAINFALL TO EASTERN NEW YORK AND ADJACENT WESTERN NEW ENGLAND FRIDAY NIGHT OR SATURDAY. THERE IS CONSIDERABLE UNCERTAINTY REGARDING THIS AS IT IS STILL SEVERAL DAYS INTO THE FUTURE. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SKYWARN SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT REQUESTED. HOWEVER...RIVERS WERE RUNNING HIGH TUESDAY MORNING...SO ANY REPORTS OF FLOODING WOULD BE APPRECIATED AT THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN ALBANY. NYZ032-033-042-301200- HAMILTON NY-NORTHERN HERKIMER NY-NORTHERN WARREN NY- 400 PM EST TUE MAR 29 2005 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE SOUTHERN ADIRONDACK REGION. .DAY ONE... NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED WEDNESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY...OR FOR SUNDAY OR MONDAY. HOWEVER...A STORM HAS THE POTENTIAL TO BRING ANOTHER ROUND OF HEAVY RAINFALL TO EASTERN NEW YORK FRIDAY NIGHT OR SATURDAY. THERE IS CONSIDERABLE UNCERTAINTY REGARDING THIS AS IT IS STILL SEVERAL DAYS INTO THE FUTURE. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SKYWARN SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
The Mohawk River exceeded the 403.0-foot flood stage at the Utica gage, cresting at 403.4 feet, 6:00PM on the 30th.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in New York in 2005Every state in 2005This day in weather historyWarnings in New York, March 2005
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: 5444362.