National Weather Service Concerned About Snow Thaw in Worcester

Saturday, February 28, 2015

Patrick Sargent, GoLocal Worcester Contributor

The National Weather Service (NWS) has concerns about the extent of the snowpack in Worcester and possible hazards of a rapid melt. According to NWS, a change in the weather pattern to a seasonable temperature could bring snowmelt sooner resulting in a quick melt.

"In the longer term, the later into the winter, or even early spring, that we hold onto this deep snowpack, the greater the overall flood threat will become, the greater there is a chance for an abrupt melt. This is because later in the season, we have an overall increased chance of seeing a warmup accompanied by rainfall," said Nicole Belk, a hydrologist with the NWS. "In the short term, what we are concerned about is poor drainage flood threat. If we have a rain event, any snow-clogged, or snow-buried drains will prevent rain that falls in the street to find another outlet. This could cause poor drainage flooding on roadways, which could even occur in areas that do not typically experience poor drainage flooding."

NWS advises those that typically experience basement flooding with spring snowmelt to have thier sump pumps ready and to make sure they are in working condition before rain or warm temperatures come through.

"The worst conditions involve an event where temperatures are well above freezing for a prolonged period of time, with high humidity, and a strong wind. The strong wind pushes the warm, moist air into the snowpack which can cause rapid melt. This type of event, if accompanied by moderate to heavy rains, could cause significant flooding down the road. This is the type of situation that we will need to watch out for in particular. Impacts could include a combination of poor drainage flooding including basement flooding, river and stream flooding," said Belk.

Last week, GoLocal asked Worcester DPW Commissioner Paul Moosey if the city was concerned about a quick melt. Moosey said, "We are monitoring ground water levels that could consume some of the drainage system capacity and are prepared with sand bags. Beyond that we are working to keep critical catch basins open. We cannot get to 16 thousand basins but do attend to the ones that have proven critical over time. Lastly we performing regular maintenance on pump stations and their back up power."

According to Belk, the ideal snowmelt conditions would be when temperatures go above freezing each day to allow snowmelt and then below freezing each night to "lock" back up the snow pack which would allow melted snow to be absorbed in the soil or to run off to rivers and streams.

To keep up to date on flooding potential in Worcester, check out National Weather Seriice's Flood Potential Outlook.