The remnants of Tropical Storm Lee moved northward from the southern Appalachians on the 6th to the middle Atlantic states on the 7th before stalling on the 8th. The moisture from Lee interacted with a frontal system to the west across the eastern Ohio Valley and eastern Great Lakes.
Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.
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 BGM wrote it up.
The remnants of Tropical Storm Lee moved northward from the southern Appalachians on the 6th to the middle Atlantic states on the 7th before stalling on the 8th. The moisture from Lee interacted with a frontal system to the west across the eastern Ohio Valley and eastern Great Lakes. In addition, moisture was drawn into New York and Pennsylvania from Hurricane Katia which was moving northward off the east coast in tandem with the remnants of Lee. This complicated scenario led to an extreme amount of rain for central New York and northeast Pennsylvania, most of which fell over a 48 hour period from the 6th to the 8th. Rainfall of 6 to 12 inches occurred over most of the upper Susquehanna river basin in New York and northeast Pennsylvania. The heavy rain caused massive, record breaking flooding on small streams, creeks and the Susquehanna River and its larger tributaries.
The main branch of the Susquehanna River in New York from Binghamton to Vestal, Owego and Waverly crested from 1 to 4 feet higher than the previous record crests set in June 2006. In Pennsylvania, record crests occurred along the Susquehanna River at Meshoppen and Wilkes Barre which exceeded the long-standing record crests by around 1 foot associated with Hurricane Agnes in 1972.
Damages in the upper Susquehanna River Basin in New York and Pennsylvania are close to 1 billion dollars. Unfortunately, the flooding claimed 1 life and injured 1 person in central New York and northeast Pennsylvania.
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 Sep 7, 6:54 AM EST, 13 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BINGHAMTON NY
754 AM EDT WED SEP 7 2011
.SYNOPSIS...
THE REMNANTS OF TROPICAL STORM LEE WILL MOVE NORTH INTO THE
THE OHIO VALLEY TODAY....THEN STALL AND WEAKEN. RAIN, HEAVY AT
TIMES, WILL CONTINUE TODAY AND TONIGHT. A FLASH FLOOD WATCH IS
IN EFFECT FOR THE POTENTIAL OF FLASH FLOODING...AND THEN RIVER
FLOODING WILL DEVELOP AS RUNOFF FLOWS INTO THE RIVERS. THE RAIN
WILL TAPER TO LIGHTER SHOWERS THURSDAY NIGHT AND FRIDAY, THEN
LINGER THROUGH THE END OF THE WEEK.
&&
.NEAR TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/...
UPDATED AT 625 AM...JUST MINOR TWEAKS TO CRNT FCST. LATEST TRENDS
FROM 06Z GFS/EURO AND CRNT RUC RUN SUPPORT THE LOCATION OF OUR FCST MAX
PXPN AXIS TO BE CNTRD OVER THE CNTRL SRN TIER/SRN FINGER LAKES AND
WRN SUSQ RGN. PREV BLO...
RAIN HAS SPREAD ACROSS THE BGM CWA...WITH RPTS OF FLOODING ALREADY
ACRS NE PA. STRONG ISEN ASCENT UNDERNEATH RR QUAD OF AN UPR LVL
JET...AND SFC INVERTED TROF WHICH WILL BE FOCUS FOR +RA ACRS THE
FCST AREA LATER THIS MRNG AND AFTN. SOME DIFFS IN THE LOCATION OF
THIS HEAVY PCPN AXIS...WITH CANADIAN IN PARTICULAR FURTHER EAST
NEARER THE BGM RGN. NAM/GFS SUGGEST THIS FOCUS WILL BE FURTHER W
OVER THE CNTRL SRN TIER/SRN FINGER LAKES AND FAR WRN PORTIONS OF
THE SUSQ RGN....AND QUICK LOOK AT LATEST HRR/RUC AND OOZ EURO
SUPPORTS THIS LOCATION. LATEST QPF FCSTS HAVE AN AXIS OF 4-7
INCHES IN THIS AREA...AND POTNL FOR LCLLY HIER AMTS CAN NOT BE
RULED OUT. VERY HIGH PRECIP WATER WILL AID +RA TDA/TNGT. POTNL FOR SOME
TSRA ACRS NE PA WHERE AXIS OF HIGHER THETA-E WILL WORK INTO THE
RGN. LEANED TWDS COOLER MET TEMPS.
.SHORT TERM /THURSDAY THROUGH FRIDAY NIGHT/...
PCPN SHUD BCM MORE SHOWERY ON THU/THU NGT BUT POTNL WILL STILL
EXITS FOR SOME LCLY HEAVY RAIN. CHC FOR TSRA SPCLY SRN TIER AND
NE PA THU MAINLY THU/FRI AFTNS...WHICH WILL ONLY EXACERBATE FLASH
FLOODING CONCERNS. ACTIVITY SHUD SLOWLY DCRS WITH TIME INTO FRIDAY
NGT.
&&
.LONG TERM /SATURDAY THROUGH TUESDAY/...
UPDATED AT 2 PM...
SATURDAY AND SUNDAY SOME SHOWERS STILL AROUND WITH LEE STILL CUT
OFF OVER THE OHIO VALLEY. THIS LIFTS OUT ON BOTH THE GFS AND EURO
ON MONDAY BRINGING A BETTER CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS
MONDAY INTO TUESDAY. NOT AS WET WITH TEMPERATURES ABOVE NORMAL
SATURDAY TO MONDAY THEN NEAR NORMAL TUESDAY.
&&
.AVIATION /12Z WEDNESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY/...
THE AREA WILL FLUCTUATE TODAY FROM MVFR DOWN TO IFR, AND POSSIBLY
EVEN LIFR IN SOME LOCATIONS. THIS IS DUE TO THE REMNANTS OF
TROPICAL STORM LEE INTERACTING WITH A STALLED FRONT IN THE AREA.
WITH ABUNDANT MOISTURE, MODERATE TO HEAVY RAIN WIL BE POSSIBLE
THROUGH TOMORROW. CURRENT THINKING IS THAT THE HEAVIEST RAIN WILL
FALL IN THE FINGER LAKES REGION TODAY. THIS AREA WILL SEE THE
GREATEST AFFECTS ON CIGS AND VSBYS. BY TONIGHT, MOST AREAS WILL
SEE CIGS BELOW 1000 FEET.
WINDS ARE NOT EXPECTED TO BE A MAJOR CONCERN TODAY. WINDS WILL
GENERALLY BE EASTERLY BETWEEN 5 AND 10 KTS THROUGH THE DAY.
OUTLOOK...
WED NGT INTO THU NGT...MVFR AND IFR IN RAIN AND FOG.
FRI TO SUN...VFR/MVFR WITH SEMITROPICAL MOISTURE STILL HERE AND
SOME SHOWERS.
&&
.HYDROLOGY...
QPFS FROM NCEP...GFS AND NAM ALSO SUGGEST A 4-7 INCH RAINFALL ACRS
CNTRL SRN TIER/CHEMUNG BASIN AND SRN FINGER LAKES. THE REST OF THE
REGION SEES 2-4 INCHES OF RAIN. BUT THESE AREAS HAVE SEEN A LOT OF
RAIN FROM IRENE WITH THE CNTRL SRN TIER/CHEMUNG AND FINGER LAKES
SEEING LESS RAIN AND HAVE MORE CAPACITY TO HOLD SOME RUNOFF BACK.
IN ANY EVENT...WE ARE VERY CONCERNED FOR LOCALIZED MAJOR FLASH
FLOODING...AND POTENTIALLY MODERATE TO MAJOR FLOODING ON OUR
RIVERS. THE MOST AT RISK LIKELY WILL BE THE CHEMUNG BASIN...FINGER
LAKES...BASINS OF NORTHEAST PA. THE NORTH BRANCH OF THE
SUSQUEHANNA AND UPPER DELAWARE LIKELY WILL SEE SOME FLOODING BUT
CUD BE SPARED THE WORST SINCE IT APPEARS AT THIS POINT THAT THE
HEAVIEST RAINS MAY STAY WEST OF THIS REGION. HOWEVER...ANTECEDENT
CONDITIONS IN THESE AREAS WARRANT FLOOD WATCHES GIVEN HOW WET IT
HAS BEEN. BOTTOM LINE NO ONE IS OUT OF THE WOODS AT THIS POINT.
THE THREATS ARE ELEVATED FOR FLOODING EVERYWHERE IN OUR SERVICE
AREA.
&&
.BGM WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
PA...FLOOD WATCH THROUGH THURSDAY AFTERNOON FOR PAZ038>040-043-044-
047-048-072.
NY...FLOOD WATCH THROUGH THURSDAY AFTERNOON FOR NYZ009-015>018-
022>025-036-037-044>046-055>057-062.
&&
SYNOPSIS...
NEAR TERM...
SHORT TERM...
LONG TERM...TAC
AVIATION...SLI
HYDROLOGY...HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BINGHAMTON NY 344 AM EDT WED SEP 7 2011 NYZ009-015>018-022>025-036-037-044>046-055>057-062-PAZ038>040-043- 044-047-048-072-080745- 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- 344 AM EDT WED SEP 7 2011 ...FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT THROUGH THURSDAY AFTERNOON... THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR CENTRAL NEW YORK...SOUTHEASTERN NEW YORK AND NORTHEAST PENNSYLVANIA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. PLEASE LISTEN TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR GO TO WEATHER.GOV ON THE INTERNET FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE FOLLOWING HAZARDS. FLOOD WATCH. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY. PLEASE LISTEN TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR GO TO WEATHER.GOV ON THE INTERNET FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE FOLLOWING HAZARDS. FLOOD WATCH. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL LIKELY BE NEEDED.
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BINGHAMTON NY
235 AM EDT WED SEP 07 2011
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0234 AM FLASH FLOOD WILKES-BARRE 41.25N 75.88W
09/07/2011 LUZERNE PA EMERGENCY MNGR
WIDESPREAD FLOODING WITH SOME EVACUATIONS BEGINNING
&&
DJPPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BINGHAMTON NY
637 AM EDT WED SEP 07 2011
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0530 AM FLOOD CALLICOON 41.77N 75.05W
09/07/2011 SULLIVAN NY 911 CENTER
WATER OVER ROUTE 52 IMPASSABLE
&&
TACThe Binghamton radar (KBGM), 74 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 12:07 UTC.
34 flash flood, 17 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Moderate flooding occurred along the East Branch Delaware River near Harvard, NY. The river crested at 14.71 feet on September 7, 2011 at 9:45 AM.
Moderate flooding occurred along the West Branch Delaware River near Walton, NY. The river gauge located near Walton recorded at crest of 14.40 feet at 6:00 AM on September 8, 2011.
Catastrophic flash flooding was reported in and around Smithboro. Numerous roads and bridges were severely damaged.
Catastrophic flash flooding was reported in the Barton area. Sulpher Springs Road was flooded along with many other roads and bridges. Severe damage was reported.
Catastrophic flash flooding occurred in the Apalachian area. Many roads were flooded, with streams flowing in people's yards. Houses, roads and bridges were severely damaged.
A major flood occurred on the Susquehanna river at Conklin, NY. The river crested at 23.94 feet at 11:45 AM on September 8, 2011.
Catastrophic flash flooding occurred in the Binghamton, Vestal, Endicott, Endwell and Chenango Valley areas. Numerous roads, bridges and homes were severely damaged. Deep ponding of water occurred below underpasses.
Major flash flooding occurred as numerous roads were flooded by very heavy rain.
Catastrophic flash flooding occurred from Owego Creek and Catatonk Creek|into the Village of Owego and surrounding areas. Numerous roads, bridges and homes were severely damaged.
Major flash flooding occurred in and around New Berlin.
Major flash flooding occurred in and around Brisben.
Major flash flooding occurred in and around Afton.
Catastrophic flash flooding in the Nichols area. Most roads and bridges were severely damaged.
Catastrophic flash flooding occurring in the Owego area. Numerous roads and bridges were severely damaged.
Catastrophic flash flooding occurred along the Nanticoke Creek in West Corners. Numerous roads, homes and bridges were severely damaged.
Catastrophic flash flooding of roads, bridges and homes occurred in the Newark Valley area. Numerous roads, homes and bridges were severely damaged.
Record flooding occurred between September 7, and September 11, 2011 along the Susquehanna river at Vestal, NY. According to the stream gauging station at Vestal, the river crested at 35.26 feet at Noon on September 8th. This surpassed the previous record of 33.66 feet set during the June 2006 flood.
Many roads were flooded in the Glen Aubrey area.
Record flooding occurred along the Susquehanna River near Waverly, NY between September 7th and September 12th, 2011. The river crested at 26.67 feet at 4:15 PM on September 8th as determined by a USGS high water mark survey. This surpassed the previous record of 22.52 feet set during the June 2006 flood.
A major flood occurred at the Bainbridge, NY river gauge (BAIN6) with a crest of 26.15 feet at 9:30 PM on September 8, 2011.
Major flash flooding took place across most of the small streams, creeks and poor drainage areas in eastern Chemung County. Many roads and bridges were washed out.
Catastrophic flash flooding occurred in the Town of Maine. Numerous roads, homes and bridges were severely damaged. Three to four feet of water flooded homes.
A record flood occurred at the Binghamton/Washington St. bridge river gauge in Binghamton, NY. The crest was 25.71 feet at 3:00 PM on September 8, 2011. The flood waters topped the flood protection walls and levees, causing extensive flooding throughout the downtown areas of Binghamton. This surpassed the previous record of 25.0 feet set during the June 2006 flood.
Catastrophic flooding occurred in Castle Creek. Numerous roads, homes and bridges were severely damaged.
Catastrophic flooding occurring along the Castle Creek. Numerous roads, homes and bridges were severely damaged.
A moderate flood crest occurred at the Chenango Forks stream gauge (CNON6) of 14.93 feet at Noon September 8, 2011.
Willard court flooded in Norwich. Forty people were evacuated.
Numerous roads were closed due to flooding. A state of emergency was declared in Otego.
Flash flooding of streams and creeks occurred. Many roads were closed due to flooding.
Major flooding occurred along the Susquehanna River near Unadilla, NY from September 7, 2011 to September 10, 2011. The river crested at 16.34 feet on September 8 at 9:15 PM. The hardest hit area was the village of Sidney, NY which incurred tens of millions of dollars in property damage.
I-88 east between exit 2 and exit 3 was closed due to a landslide with trees involved.
The Engelbert farm which is just east of Lounsberry on East River Road is several feet under water and has been since mid-afternoon. There is significant damage to equipment, buildings and crops. Some livestock were lost in the flash flood.
Numerous roads were flooded due to heavy rains.
Numerous roads flooded in the City of Oneonta. SUNY Oneonta was almost cut off on the hill above the flooding.
A moderate to major flood occurred on the Chenango river at Greene, NY. The river crested at 21.09 feet at 10:15 AM on September 8, 2011. There was extensive flooding in the town and village of Greene, and surrounding areas.
Page Brook Road is flooded at the Chalker Creek culvert. Chalker creek has breached the culvert and is flowing down the road.
Road flooding was reported on State Route 14 between Watkins Glen and Montour Falls. One lane is covered for about 100 feet.
All roads were closed in the Norwich area due to major flash flooding.
A record flood occurred on the Susquehanna river at Owego, NY. The crest was recorded by a high water mark survey at 39.62 feet on September 8, 2011 with an estimated time at about 3:00 PM. This flood smashed the previous record flood event by being nearly 4 feet higher.
A record breaking flood occurred on the Unadilla River near Rockdale on September 8, 2011. The river crested at 14.22 feet at 10:45 AM. Widespread flooding occurred all along the reach of the river. This surpassed the previous record of 13.96 feet set during the June 2006 flood.
Street flooding of Erie Boulevard was flooded and there was 6 inches of water over 3rd street in Rome.
Several roads were flooded around the Ithaca area.
Multiple roads were closed with water over them in the Town of Barker.
Major flash flooding occurred on many roads in the Caroline-Slaterville Springs area.
A record flood occurred on the Chenango River at Sherburne, NY on September 8, 2011. The river crested at 11.64 feet at 8:15 AM. Widespread major flooding was observed along the reach of the river. This surpassed the previous record of 11.35 feet set during the June 2006 flood.
The Saquoit creek at the intersection of Sunnyside and Brookline drives exceeded its banks and caused flooding along Brookline drive and across the Bridge on Genesee street on the Utica-New Hartford line.
Record flooding occurred along the Oneida Creek near Oneida, NY. The river crested at 15.55 feet according to a USGS high water mark survey. The previous record crest was 15.01 feet from an event back in October of 1976.
Both lanes of Route 434 in Vestal were completely flooded by Old Owego road next to Chucksters miniature golf.
Moderate flooding occurred on the West Branch Delaware River near Hale Eddy, NY. The river gauge located near Hale Eddy crested at 14.71 feet on September 8, 2011 at 10:45 AM.
Major flooding occurred on the Susquehanna River near Windsor, NY. The river crested at 24.21 feet on September 8, 2011 at 6:45 PM.
Moderate flooding occurred along the Delaware River near Callicoon, NY. The river gauge located near Callicoon crested at 14.34 feet at 5:15 PM on September 8, 2011.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in New York in 2011Every state in 2011This day in weather historyWarnings in New York, September 2011
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: 349527, 349530, 339226, 339230, 339229, 348757, 339231, 339234, 339237, 339239, 349545, 349546, 339242, 339244, 339245, 339246, 349312, 339409, 349519, 348753, 349539, 339247, 348756, 339411, 339413, 348751, 339415, 339418, 339419, 349311, 339420, 339461, 339471, 339422, 348758, 339426, 339437, 339438, 348760, 349309, and more.