As the 10-year anniversary of Hurricane Irene loomed, the Schoharie Valley dodged the bullet from Henri, at first a hurricane, but downgraded to a Tropical Depression before making landfall on Long Island.
The Village of Middleburgh recorded just 1.76 inches of rain at its sewer plant—below the 2-4 inches forecast.
Most of that rain came overnight Sunday, but Monday wasn’t without its own drama.
Just before 10am, said Office of Emergency Services Management Director Mike Hartzel, a flood siren in Central Bridge malfunctioned and went off.
“I’m not kidding when I say my phone was blowing up,” Mr. Hartzel said.
After confirming with the New York Power Authority that there was nothing going on, OES and dispatchers spread the word and made reverse 911 calls to Central Bridge residents, he said.
Though water levels in the Schoharie Creek at Blenheim looked high Monday, that’s because of a negotiated NYPA discharge; both NYPA and DEP had room or voids in their reservoirs to take on water.
OES and local fire departments were well-prepared for Henri, Mr. Hatzel said—in part because it came so close to Irene and under similar circumstances—an unusually wet summer that left the ground saturated.
“I think everyone was anxious,” he said. “It was just too close to what we all went through in 2011. Even the way the storm tracked…It was eerie.”
But in the end, streamflow levels were just about normal—8,500 cubic feet per second.
The Christmas Day storm that hit Middleburgh was 35,000 cubic feet per second, Mr. Hartzel said; Irene was 176,000 cubic feet per second.