Mother Nature ended a streak of hot summer days with a fierce thunderstorm and flash flooding on the North Fork this afternoon.
According to Joe Pollina of the National Weather Service’s office at Upton, a flash flood advisory is in effect for the area until 3:45 p.m.
The heavy rain has flooded low-lying, flood-prone areas in town, including Heidi Behr Drive along the Peconic Riverfront, which has been closed to traffic at Peconic Avenue.
A downed wire set a tree on fire in the Wildwood Lake area of Northampton this afternoon. Riverhead firefighters dispatched a brush truck and an engine to the scene and was waiting for PSEG to arrive and cut power to the downed line. Otherwise, Riverhead came out of this pass of heavy rain and thunderstorms unscathed compared to Southold Town, where the storm left nearly 1,000 customers without power.
Pollina said a total rainfall of one-and-a-half to two inches of rain is expected, with local higher amounts reaching three to four inches possible.
The rain follows days of high temperatures, Pollina said, with no rain at all reported in the past 10 days, and one-thirteenth of an inch on August 30.
Temperatures were six degrees above normal on Monday, and 13 degrees above normal both Tuesday and yesterday, he said.
Polllina warned motorists to beware of flooding on area roads, not driving through large puddles where depth may be deceiving. He said while some downed power lines and isolated outages may be reported, those tend to happen in greater numbers during high wind events.
The survival of local journalism depends on your support.
We are a small family-owned operation. You rely on us to stay informed, and we depend on you to make our work possible. Just a few dollars can help us continue to bring this important service to our community.
Support RiverheadLOCAL today.
