Staff Writer
With the larger than usual amount of snowfall this year, weather forecasters are predicting widespread minor flooding throughout Aroostook County, according to officials at a meeting last week of emergency services and weather officials in Caribou.
Aroostook Republican photo/Debra Walsh
National Weather Service officials, Tony Sturey, left, and Mark Turner, address a roomful of state and local officials on the potential for widespread minor flooding in Aroostook County. The session, held Thursday at the Caribou Inn and Convention Center, included information on shelter locations and weather patterns for this month which could impact the region.
“Now is the time to prepare for whatever is going to happen,” said Mark Turner, a hydrologist with the National Weather Service office in Caribou.
More than 60 people, representing police, fire and public works departments, state transportation and local municipalities, attended the first ever briefing on current snow pack and ice conditions. The meeting was coordinated by the Aroostook County Emergency Management Agency, which is monitoring conditions for potential flooding.
Officials said Thursday that emergency shelters are being identified and supplies stockpiled in the event of flooding. Volunteers are on alert in the event that residents need assistance.
The areas labeled as “at-risk” are in Allagash, Van Buren, Washburn and Fort Fairfield, communities located along major rivers, according to officials. Adding to the threat is the potential for a rainstorms predicted later this month, weather officials said.
The region has surpassed the 1954-1955 snowfall record of 181 inches. In addition, the snow contains a large quantity of liquid, which could cause flooding when the snow begins to melt. To help in paying the increased costs of snow removal, a request for federal aid has been submitted to President Bush.
Turner said that the depth of the snow on the ground is about 45 to 55 inches. The liquid content has been estimated at 12 to 14.5 inches. Previously, the liquid content has been about eight to 10 inches.
“It’s unprecedented by any measure,” said Turner. “It’s in the top 10 percent of measurements made across the state.”
Turner predicted that if a large amount of precipitation falls, coupled with the melting snow, flooding could occur.
Tony Sturey, the warnings coordinator at the weather office, explained that any flooding is the result of several factors, including snow pack and precipitation.
“There’s a recipe for flooding,” said Sturey. “It’s a puzzle we’re trying to piece together.”
NWS officials researched the large snowfalls in 1955 and in 1982 and found that there was no resultant flooding.
Another piece of the puzzle is temperature, Sturey explained. April has an average temperature of about 36 degrees.
Forecasters predict that the current weather patterns, caused by La Nina, will not change. As the month of April continues, daytime temperatures are expected to creep up into the 40s and 50s, while the night temperatures will fall back to freezing and below.
Sturey said that the temperature range would allow melting during the day, but slow that process during the night hours, which offers a change for orderly melting. However, a storm cycle is expected between April 10 and 20, where the frequency of precipitation will increase, Sturey said. In this case, more rain than snow will fall, according to the NWS official.
WAGM-TV Meteorologist Ted Shapiro said that Aroostook County residents need to prepare for possible flooding.
“You have to understand the force of moving water,” he said.
For example, 18 inches of water can float a vehicle, he explained.
The director of the Aroostook County Branch of the American Red Cross, Joyce Knorr, said that preventive measures are being taken. Shelters, primarily in the local high schools, will be available in the “at-risk” areas, such as along the Allagash, St. John and Aroostook rivers.
Knorr advised residents to pack a “comfort kit,” that they could grab in the event that they must evacuate to a shelter. Kit contents can include toiletries, medication or other items, that a person may need for a day or two, Knorr explained.
County residents may contact the American Red Cross at 493-4620 or the Aroostook County Emergency Management Agency at 493-4328 for information on preparing for a flood.
Aroostook Republican Photo/Barb Scott
Proving that all the warnings given out to this winter, regarding the importance of keeping snow cleaned off the roofs of buildings and homes proved true sometime in the early morning hours of Saturday, April 5, when the former McCain Foods Refrigeration building collapsed. The 70,000 square foot, steel and wood structure, located on the Grimes Road in Caribou, came down, leaving a large expanse of twisted metal, steel girders and insulation spewed over the snow. The building had been sold in December 2007, to Metal Recycling Services, a Canadian-based company from St. Basil, N.B. The company had planned to open the business April 14, with an estimated 8-10 employees. Company officials have indicated that the building was well insured and plans are to rebuild and go forward with the business at the same site.