Fire Chief Brian Duggan said minor flooding is typical for the city this time of year.
High water often threatens this house on Route 5 near the Oxbow. In 2009, the home was raised several feet to protect the first floor from water damage.NORTHAMPTON – Melting snow up north and overnight rain has swollen the Connecticut River and minor flooding has begun here and in Montague, officials said.
Fire Chief Brian Duggan, who also heads up emergency management for Northampton, said he has yet to receive any flood-related calls.
“The Meadows are filling in and the backyards that typically get water in them are starting to fill up,” Duggan said, adding that such minor flooding is typical for the city this time of year.
The river floods in Northampton is at 112 feet and as of 8 a.m. Wednesday it had risen to 112.3 feet. The river will continue rising to near 113.4 feet by early Friday morning and additional rises may occur after that, according to the National Weather Service.
Duggan said he will be monitoring the river closely over the next few days. It’s not yet known if the river in Northampton will approach the 115 foot mark which would mean flooding to some residential areas and prompt the closing of Route 10.
“We are cognizant of a significant snowpack up north,” Duggan said.
At 113 feet, minor flooding will affect areas near the Oxbow, areas along Aqua Vitae Drive in Hadley and farmland in Hatfield that lie outside dike protection, according to the weather service.
Abc40 / Fox 6 meteorologist Mike Masco said that Western Massachusetts could receive a half-inch or more of rain Wednesday.
“It’s going to be a cloudy and rain-filled day,” he said. More rain is forecast Saturday night into Sunday.
Minor flooding in Montague begins at 28 feet and as of about 8:30 a.m. the river was running there at 28.2 feet, according to the National Weather Service.
Montague police said Wednesday morning that they have yet to receive any reports of flooding.
The river will continue rising to 29.7 feet by early Friday morning when it is expected to crest, according to the weather service.
At 30 feet, flooding of low-lying areas outside levee protection is likely from Greenfield through Hatfield.
In Thompsonville, near the Massachusetts line, the river was running at 4.6 feet as of about 8:30 a.m. The river there is expected to rise above its 5 foot flood stage as of late Wednesday afternoon. The river will rise to near 5.9 feet by Friday morning and additional rises are possible.
Minor flooding, meanwhile, in low-lying areas along the Connecticut in Longmeadow, Agawam, Suffield and Enfield is possible by Friday, according to the weather service.