While the brunt of the storm has passed the area as of Thursday morning January 31, there are still many after effects set to impact the region.
High winds have already resulted in damage to trees, buildings, and power lines in New York State. The first image shows the wind icons in brown boxes for each wind damage report submitted by the public. The wind damage has been confined to New York, however wind damage will be possible through Thursday in Vermont and New Hampshire too.
Strong upper level winds in the atmosphere (50-70 mph) will be able to transport more easily to ground level Thursday because of colder and drier air moving in. This creates more 'instability' in the atmosphere and can allow for these potentially damaging wind gusts.
The other after effect will be flooding. So far Thursday morning the Ausable River caused flooding along Rt. 9 N between Jay and Keene, as well as the Ausable Forks area. Ice jams are very unpredictable as to when they will break up and move downstream. Thus area rivers should be monitored very closely through Friday for potential ice jams.
Our region got roughly a half-inch of rain, with isolated amounts up to one-inch. A lot of snow melted, to the order of a half-inch to one-inch when looking at the liquid equivalent. Thus we basically got one to two inches of rain in a 24-30 hour window. Rivers will be delayed to react, however forecasts show, on the left hand side courtesy NOAA/AHPS, that multiple rivers could flood through Friday because of ice jams. These must be monitored closely! If you see rising water seek higher ground immediately. Remember to never drive through flooded roads. Alert local emergency management with reports of flooding when safe to do so.
-Meteorologist Steve Glazier
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