3/12/2024
WT Staff
HAPPENING NOW
Sunny and clear, spring is here
Flood wise driving, flood smart autos
Water news for Tuesday, March 12, 2024 946 am EDT
Flood wise driving, flood smart autos
Spring has arrived in New York with warm weather and sunshine, accompanied by the nation's most common natural disaster.
Over the weekend, the West Branch Delaware, Hudson, Bronx and Hackensack Rivers overflowed their channels at multiple locations while the Long Island south coast was inundated with high sea levels, one to two feet above flood stage.
Looking to the emergency preparedness and public safety advice offered by the National Weather Service, FEMA and CDC, the main messaging is aimed at drivers. Turn Around, Don’t Drown! is the mantra for emergency response and preparedness agencies, as the CDC says, "Never drive through flooded areas. As little as six inches of water can cause you to lose control of your vehicle." According to the CDC, "flooding causes more deaths than any other hazard related to thunderstorms. The most common flood deaths occur when a vehicle is driven into hazardous flood waters."
How can a driver confronted with water flowing across the roadway know how deep the floodwater is? What happens when a vehicle's electrical system shuts down? WTNY.us asked auto manufacturers around the world about flood safety measures built in to their vehicles. Watch here for the responses as we find out which new cars rolling off the line in 2024 come equipped with live saving flood safety measures. More to follow.
Streamflow Situation from USGS current streamflow monitors
As of Tuesday, three monitored locations are running above 99th percentile with no active flooding.
Northeast Lake Champlain watershed is experiencing much above normal streamflow volume in its creeks and rivers, running mostly above 90th percentile Tuesday. Upper and Lower Hudson watershed, Long Island and the southeast Susquehanna, Delaware and Ramapo watersheds are all running much above normal.
Check blue tags for 99th percentile flows.
West interior flows are mostly normal Tuesday with Lower Genesee watershed still recording two stations flowing much below normal. Half a dozen stations record provisional streamflow values below seasonal normal through the west interior, including Oswego River - Finger Lakes drainage basin, Lake Ontario minor tributaries, Genesee and Niagara River - Lake Erie watersheds. Streamflows in the Chemung River watershed are running above seasonal normal Tuesday, feeding into much above normal Susquehanna River system. The southwest facing flow feeding the Ohio River and Mississippi/Gulf of Mexico basin is rated normal.
No extreme low flows are recorded in the network provisional data at the time of this report.
Drought Map USGS 7-day average streamflow against seasonal average
St Lawrence River watershed has moved off the drought map Tuesday with flows on the Raquette River getting back to seasonal normal levels. As the streamflows in the Niagara River - Lake Erie and Lower Genesee River watersheds continue to run below and much below seasonal, we see these watersheds remain on the drought map, rated below normal. All other areas of NYS are clear of any sort of drought rating.
Drinking Water Matters
Amsterdam issued a BWA following a water main break last week Thursday. The advisory was applied to customers connecting on Evelyn St from Guy Park Ave to Phillips St, Stewart St from Evelyn Ave to Northampton Rd, Guy Park Ave from Evelyn Ave to Northampton Rd, Phillips St from Evelyn Ave to Northampton Rd, Lily St, Laura Lane, Machold Ave.
Hazardous Spills Report a spill 1-800-457-7362
NY DEC Emergency spill hotline takes reports of hazardous materials spills from anyone with knowledge of a spill. Professional responders are dispatched to contain spills and remove hazardous materials. Note that a spill of one gallon of home heating oil inside a residence is considered a large spill requiring professional response and cleanup. Ventilate the building and clear the area if a spill of fuel oil #2 occurs inside your home, and call the emergency spill line.
USGS Provisional Data Statement
Data are provisional and subject to revision until they have been thoroughly reviewed and received final approval. Current condition data relayed by satellite or other telemetry are automatically screened to not display improbable values until they can be verified.
Provisional data may be inaccurate due to instrument malfunctions or physical changes at the measurement site. Subsequent review based on field inspections and measurements may result in significant revisions to the data.
Data users are cautioned to consider carefully the provisional nature of the information before using it for decisions that concern personal or public safety or the conduct of business that involves substantial monetary or operational consequences. Information concerning the accuracy and appropriate uses of these data or concerning other hydrologic data may be obtained from the USGS.
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