Today's chance of precipitation is 70%, with a tenth to a quarter inch of rain possible.
09.07.2011 | SPRINGFIELD - At Riverfront Park Thursday morning, steps leading from the promenade to the river were still caked in mud from last week's flooding as the water rose again.The National Weather Service has issued a flood warning that covers a number of Western Massachusetts communities.
In effect until 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, the warning covers Franklin County, including Greenfield; Hampden County, including Springfield and Chicopee; and Hampshire County, including Northampton and Amherst.
Sections of the Westfield and Mill rivers reached flood stage as of 7:30 a.m., the warning notes, and will remain at that stage for several hours. Other small streams in the warning area are likely to flood over the course of the day as rain showers continue to soak the area.
In Northampton, the Mill River at the Clement Street bridge was recorded at 10.71 feet at 7:15 a.m. Wednesday, data from the National Weather Service's Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service show.
Flood stage at the Clement Street gauge is 11 feet, and the river's record crest there was 16.42 feet on Aug. 28, as Hurricane Irene drenched the region. At 11 feet, flooding occurs along the Smith College river walk path. Farm roads in the area of the Oxbow flood when the river reaches 12 feet.
The Connecticut River remained below its 112-foot flood stage in the city Wednesday morning. It was most recently measured at 109.02 feet at 8 a.m.
In Colrain, the North River at Shattuckville was recorded at 6.51 feet at 7:15 a.m. Flood stage there is 9 feet; "action stage", though, is 6 feet. The river reached a record level of 17.66 feet -- over 4 feet above major flood stage -- during Hurricane Irene.
The latest forecast from the National Weather Service calls for rain to continue through Thursday, with a chance of showers again on Friday.
Rainfall totals of a tenth to a quarter of an inch are possible today, when the chance of precipitation is 70%.