UMass hydrogeologist David Boutt called the Deerfield River flooding a "several hundred-year" flood. Watch video
The Connecticut River at the Memorial Bridge on Sunday, as Irene passed over Western Massachusetts.
SPRINGFIELD – The storm-swollen Connecticut River was expected to reach a second crest from Montague south to Holyoke sometime Monday night as water moves from the headwaters regions hit hardest by Irene.
The Connecticut will crest in Springfield sometime Tuesday.
But the river is not expected to reach flood stage in Springfield, said hydrogeologist David F. Boutt, an assistant professor of geosciences at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. “As the water moves downstream it tends to disperse. The peaks in flow tend to moderate,” Boutt said.
All Massachusetts rivers will be out of flood stage by Wednesday and should recede to a seasonally normal level within a week.
“But there will still be a lot of debris and silt,” Boutt said. “I wouldn’t want to be boating in the Long Island Sound next week. It is hard to imagine that that’s where it is all going to go.”
Boutt has spent years studying the Deerfield River and toured the devastated region Monday. He called the Deerfield River flooding a “several hundred-year” flood.
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” Boutt said. “I was amazed at just how high the Deerfield River was and the amount of debris. Every stream in that area left its banks, even the smallest little drainages had more water in it than we’ve ever historically seen.”
The Deerfield River dumped 90,000 cubic feet of water a second into the Connecticut at one point Sunday, Boutt said.
“That’s two orders of magnitude greater than normal,” he said. “It was just a lot of rain in a very short period of time,” he said.
The region was saved because this storm hit in August when creeks and rivers are relatively low. According to the United States Geologic Survey, at Holyoke the Connecticut is expected to crest Tuesday at 29 feet, just 6 inches shy of flood stage.
At Northampton, the Connecticut was expected to crest late Monday night at 117 feet above sea level, a full five feet over flood stage, according to the National Weather Service.
The Westfield River crested late Sunday night at 20 feet above sea level, seven feet above flood stage. But the river receded just as quickly and is expected to be back at seven feet above sea level, about average for this time of year, by Tuesday morning.
Tributaries like the Deerfield, Westfield and Mill rivers were already subsiding Sunday night, Boutt said.
Bradley international Airport in Windsor Locks Connecticut was expected to operate at full volume Tuesday after reopening at 70 percent normal Monday, said John J. Wallace, director of communications.
Airlines had trouble bouncing back Monday because most moved planes off the East Coast and out of harm’s way Friday. it takes time to reposition those planes, he said.
“We had 12 people here in cots on Sunday,” he said.
Springfield-based Peter Pan Bus Lines was at full operation Monday, said Robert J. Schwarz, executive vice president. Peter Pan shut down Sunday because it couldn’t have access to the Port Authority Bus Terminal in New York City and many East Coast highways were closed.
Amtrak canceled Vermonter service north through Springfield to St. Albans, Vt., and the Springfield shuttle service from Springfield south to New Haven, Conn. There was no word on when service would resume, the railroad said Monday in a news release.
In Buckland, a group of about 140 National Guard members have set up equipment and will stay at Mohawk Regional High School in Buckland to assist with repairing road damage in the hard-hit areas, superintendent Superintendent Michael A. Buoniconti said.
The start of school has been pushed off for a week for a number of reasons, including the presence of the National Guard and the fact that Hawlemont elementary school, located next to the Deerfield River, has been flooded and its grounds are covered with mud, he said.
Problems with damaged bridges will make it difficult to bus students to school as well, Buoniconti said.