Flash Flood, Bradford
- When
- June 27, 4:50 PM EST to June 28, 2:00 PM EST
- Where
- Bradford County, East Portion
- Property damage
- $25 million
- Reported by
- EMERGENCY MANAGER
- Coordinates
- 41.789, -76.515 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flash Flood in Pennsylvania, June 27 to 28, 2006
Tropical moisture continued to stream northward into northeast Pennsylvania ahead of a frontal system which slowly moved westward into the eastern Great Lakes by Tuesday morning the 27th. By Tuesday evening another more substantial area of heavy rain moved into the eastern half of Bradford County as the front moved back east and combined with a low pressure system moving up the eastern seaboard.
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
- $25 million
- 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 BGM wrote it up.
Tropical moisture continued to stream northward into northeast Pennsylvania ahead of a frontal system which slowly moved westward into the eastern Great Lakes by Tuesday morning the 27th. By Tuesday evening another more substantial area of heavy rain moved into the eastern half of Bradford County as the front moved back east and combined with a low pressure system moving up the eastern seaboard. This additional rainfall caused massive flash flooding by 5:50 pm EDT Tuesday through Wednesday at 3 pm EDT. Hardest hit areas were mainly in the eastern half of the county, including Sayre, Athens, Ulster, Sheshequin, Windham, LeRaysville, Herrick, and Stevens. Total damage was estimated around 25 million dollars. The flash floods caused 99 homes to be damaged, 1 destroyed. 12 businesses were flooded. There were at least 100 people evacuated from the flood waters. More than 50 roads were damaged and 2 bridges flooded. All the flash flooding in Bradford County combined with the heavy rainfall in upstate New York to send the Susquehanna River in Sayre and Athens to its highest level in history. At the Sayre/Waverly Gauge, the Susquehanna River crested at 22.52 feet Wednesday night which was 1.1 feet higher than the previous record set in March 1936. The levee system that protects Sayre and Athens held but 300 people were ordered to evacuate as a precaution. The river did flood the Athens sewage plant causing major water problems for Athens. Fortunately there were no deaths from this flood in Bradford County.
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 Jun 27, 2:50 PM EST, 2 hours earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jun 27, 2:50 PM EST, 2 hours before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BINGHAMTON NY 350 PM EDT TUE JUN 27 2006 .SHORT TERM (TONIGHT - THURSDAY)... OBVIOUSLY, A VERY BUSY DAY TODAY...SO WILL KEEP THIS SHORT AND SIMPLE. THE FRONTAL BOUNDARY EXTENDS FROM CENTRAL OHIO SWD ALONG THE APPALACHIANS. JUST AN IMPRESSIVE AMOUNT OF MOISTURE CONTINUES TO WORK IT/S WAY NORTHWARD...EXTENDING FROM TROPICAL SYSTEM OFF THE COAST OF NORTH CAROLINA ATTM. MODERATE TO HEAVY RAINFALL WITH EMBEDDED CONVECTION IS PRODUCING RAINFALL RATES OF ONE HALF TO ONE INCH PER HOUR WITH MUCH HIGHER IN CONVECTION. HAVE JUST RECEIVED A RELIABLE RAINFALL REPORT OF OVER ONE INCH IN 15 MINUTES. MANY AREAS ARE ALREADY EXPERIENCING SERIOUS FLOODING PROBLEMS...ESPECIALLY THE SOUTHEAST PART OF THE FORECAST AREA. WITH ADDITIONAL RAINFALL AMOUNTS ON THE ORDER OF 1.5 TO 3 INCHES AVERAGE THROUGH WED MORNING..AND LOCALLY HIGHER AMTS UP TO 5 INCHES DUE TO CONVECTIVE AND TERRAIN ENHANCEMENT POSSIBLE...MAJOR PROBLEMS ARE IN STORE FOR A GOOD CHUNK OF SOUTHERN NEW YORK AND NORTHEAST PA. THE NAM IS SLOWER THAN THE GFS IN MOVING THE FRONT AND PRECIP OUT WEDNESDAY MORNING. THE NAM DEVELOPS A WAVE ALONG THE BOUNDARY AND HOLDS IT BACK LONGER. HAVE TRENDED TWD CONSISTENT GFS. EITHER WAY, WILL SEE AN IMPROVING TREND WITH DIMINISHING PRECIP DURING THE DAY AS THE MOITURE PLUME MOVES OFF TO THE NORTHEAST. UPPER TROUGH MOVING INTO THE GREAT LAKES WILL LEAD TO MORE SCATTERED VARIETY SHRA WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON THRU THURSDAY. COOLING TEMPS ALOFT AND ENOUGH INSTABILITY TO CONTINUE CHC POPS FOR SHRA AND TSRA. && .AVIATION (26/18Z TO 27/18Z)... RAIN...HEAVY AT TIMES...WITH EMBEDDED TRWS WILL CONT THRU THE PD. THRU 00Z...XPCT MAINLY BRIEF DROPS INTO IFR CONDS AS THE PCPN REMAINS SCT. LTR TNGTR AND EARLY ON WED...A BROAD AREA OF PCPN WILL MOVE INTO THE AREA WITH A MORE STEADY AREA OF PCPN. CIGS AND VSBYS SHD DROP INTO THE IFR RANGE AFT 06Z MOST STATIONS...AND LINGER THERE UNTIL AT LEAST 12 TO 14Z WED. MORFORD && .LONG RANGE (THU NIGHT - MONDAY)... FCST AREA REMAINS UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF AN UPPER TROF...AND ASSOCIATED WET AND COOL CONDS...THRU THE PD. GOOD NEWS IS THAT THE TROPICAL CONNECTION TO THE TROF SHD BE BKN BY THE BEGGINNING OF THE PD...SO WHILE A CHANCE OF RAIN WILL REMAIN THRU MUCH OF THE PD...AMTS WILL BE LGT. FLWD HPC GUID FOR TEMPS...AND CLOSE TO HPC FOR POPS. MORFORD && .BGM WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... .NY...FLASH FLOOD WATCH FOR NYZ009-015>018-022>025-036-037-044>046- 055>057-062 UNTIL NOON EDT WEDNESDAY. .PA...FLASH FLOOD WATCH FOR PAZ038>040-043-044-047-048-072 UNTIL NOON EDT WEDNESDAY. &&
Hazardous weather outlook, Jun 27, 2:41 AM EST, 14 hours 9 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BINGHAMTON NY 341 AM EDT TUE JUN 27 2006 NYZ009-015>018-022>025-036-037-044>046-055>057-062-PAZ038>040-043- 044-047-048-072-280745- NORTHERN ONEIDA-YATES-SENECA-SOUTHERN CAYUGA-ONONDAGA-STEUBEN- SCHUYLER-CHEMUNG-TOMPKINS-MADISON-SOUTHERN ONEIDA-CORTLAND- CHENANGO-OTSEGO-TIOGA-BROOME-DELAWARE-SULLIVAN-BRADFORD- SUSQUEHANNA-NORTHERN WAYNE-WYOMING-LACKAWANNA-LUZERNE-PIKE- SOUTHERN WAYNE- 341 AM EDT TUE JUN 27 2006 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL NEW YORK...SOUTHEASTERN NEW YORK AND NORTHEAST PENNSYLVANIA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT AN EXTREMELY MOIST AIRMASS REMAINS IN PLACE ACROSS THE REGION THROUGH WEDNESDAY MORNING. WITH THE GROUND ALREADY SATURATED DUE TO RECENT RAINFALL...FLASH FLOODING WILL BE POSSIBLE TODAY AND TONIGHT. ADDITIONAL RAINFALL OF 1 TO 3 INCHES CAN BE EXPECTED...WITH LOCALLY HIGHER AMOUNTS POSSIBLE. ANY RAIN THAT FALLS WILL QUICKLY RUN OFF INTO AREA CREEKS AND STREAMS...CAUSING MANY TO OVERFLOW THEIR BANKS. THUS...A FLASH FLOOD WATCH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 8 AM WEDNESDAY MORNING. PLEASE REFER TO ALBFFABGM WGUS61 FOR THE LATEST DETAILS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED TODAY AND TONIGHT IN SUPPORT OF HEAVY RAINFALL AND FLOODING. RAINFALL SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF ONE INCH OR GREATER. PB
In the hours before
Local storm report, Jun 27, 2:31 PM EST, 2 hours 19 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BINGHAMTON NY
331 PM EDT TUE JUN 27 2006
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0145 PM FLASH FLOOD WALTON 42.17N 75.13W
06/27/2006 DELAWARE NY CO-OP OBSERVER
MOST OF TOWN UNDER WATER.
0300 PM FLASH FLOOD ONEONTA 42.45N 75.07W
06/27/2006 OTSEGO NY AMATEUR RADIO
ALL ROADS CLOSED DUE TO WIDESPREAD FLOODING.
0310 PM FLASH FLOOD OWEGO 42.10N 76.26W
06/27/2006 TIOGA NY AMATEUR RADIO
BUSINESSES FLOODED DOWNTOWN.
&&
MJCSpecial weather statement, Jun 27, 2:53 PM EST, 1 hour 57 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BINGHAMTON NY 353 PM EDT TUE JUN 27 2006 NYZ017-023-025-272100- TOMPKINS NY-SCHUYLER NY-SOUTHERN CAYUGA NY- 353 PM EDT TUE JUN 27 2006 * AT 347 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A STRONG THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING STRONG GUSTY WINDS...AND VERY HEAVY RAIN. THIS STORM WAS LOCATED NEAR MECKLENBURG...AND MOVING NORTHEAST AT 35 MPH. * THE STRONG THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR... TAUGHANNOCK FALLS AND WILLOW CREEK AT 400 PM EDT... LANSINGVILLE AND LAKE RIDGE AT 405 PM EDT... KING FERRY AT 410 PM EDT... EAST GENOA AND EAST VENICE AT 415 PM EDT... LOCKE AND VENICE CENTER AT 420 PM EDT... MONTVILLE AND MORAVIA AT 425 PM EDT... SEMPRONIUS AND DRESSERVILLE AT 430 PM EDT... KELLOGGSVILLE AND NEW HOPE AT 435 PM EDT... THIS STORM HAS THE POTENTIAL TO BECOME SEVERE AND PRODUCE LARGE HAIL AND/OR DAMAGING WINDS...AND COULD CAUSE LOCALIZED FLOODING OF ROADS AND POOR DRAINAGE AREAS.
Special weather statement, Jun 27, 3:24 PM EST, 1 hour 26 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BINGHAMTON NY 424 PM EDT TUE JUN 27 2006 NYZ024-025-055-272130- TOMPKINS NY-CHEMUNG NY-TIOGA NY- 424 PM EDT TUE JUN 27 2006 * AT 417 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A STRONG THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING WIND GUSTS TO 40 MPH...AND VERY HEAVY RAIN. THIS STORM WAS LOCATED 7 MILES WEST OF LOCKWOOD...AND MOVING NORTHEAST AT 35 MPH. * THE STRONG THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR... ERIN AT 430 PM EDT... VAN ETTEN AND SWARTWOOD AT 435 PM EDT... NORTH SPENCER AND WEST CANDOR AT 440 PM EDT... WEST DANBY AND NEWFIELD HAMLET AT 445 PM EDT... DANBY AND SOUTH DANBY AT 450 PM EDT... SOUTH HILL AND BROOKTONDALE AT 455 PM EDT... BESEMER AND EAST ITHACA AT 500 PM EDT... ETNA AND NORTHEAST ITHACA AT 505 PM EDT... FREEVILLE AND WEST DRYDEN AT 510 PM EDT... THIS STORM HAS THE POTENTIAL TO BECOME SEVERE AND PRODUCE DAMAGING WINDS...AND COULD CAUSE FLOODING OF ROADS AND POOR DRAINAGE AREAS.
Local storm report, Jun 27, 3:33 PM EST, 1 hour 17 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BINGHAMTON NY
433 PM EDT TUE JUN 27 2006
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0415 PM FLASH FLOOD MECKLENBURG 42.47N 76.70W
06/27/2006 SCHUYLER NY LAW ENFORCEMENT
1.10 INCHES IN 10 MINUTES. ROADS CLOSED AND DRIVEWAY
WASHOUTS.
&&
MJCLocal storm report, Jun 27, 3:53 PM EST, 57 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BINGHAMTON NY
453 PM EDT TUE JUN 27 2006
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0400 PM FLASH FLOOD BATH 42.34N 77.32W
06/27/2006 STEUBEN NY EMERGENCY MNGR
ROADS CLOSED DUE TO FLOODING.
&&
MJCLocal storm report, Jun 27, 4:44 PM EST, 6 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BINGHAMTON NY
544 PM EDT TUE JUN 27 2006
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0530 PM FLASH FLOOD CAROLINE 42.38N 76.30W
06/27/2006 TOMPKINS NY LAW ENFORCEMENT
BRIDGE WASHED OUT. ROADS CLOSED.
&&
MJCThe radar
The Binghamton radar (KBGM), 63 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 21:49 UTC.
Event by event
1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
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
- Flash Flood in Pennsylvania, June 27 to 28, 2006
- Flash Flood in New York, June 27 to 28, 2006
- Flash Flood and Flood in Pennsylvania, June 27 to 30, 2006
- Flash Flood in New York, June 27 to 28, 2006
- Flash Flood in Pennsylvania, June 27 to 28, 2006
- Flash Flood in Pennsylvania, June 27 to 28, 2006
- Flash Flood in New York, June 27 to 28, 2006
- Flash Flood in New York, June 27 to 28, 2006
- Flash Flood in New York, June 27 to 28, 2006
- Flash Flood in Pennsylvania, June 27 to 28, 2006
- Flash Flood in Pennsylvania, June 27 to 28, 2006
- Flash Flood in New York, June 27 to 28, 2006
More
Every storm in Pennsylvania in 2006Every state in 2006This day in weather historyWarnings in Pennsylvania, June 2006
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: 5516308.