WATCH ABOVE: After being hit with a massive snowstorm last week, temperatures in and around Buffalo, N.Y. rose to 18 C on Monday and rain is falling. It’s feared q quick melt could lead to major flooding. Eric Sorensen reports from West Seneca, N.Y., where people are bracing for the worst.
BUFFALO, N.Y. — First came the big storm, then the big dig. Now comes the big melt as temperatures are expected to hit nearly 16 Celsius (60 degrees Fahrenheit) Monday in Western New York. The National Weather Service has issued a flood warning for Monday and cautioned that trees weakened by heavy snowfall and saturated soil could come crashing down.
High wind gusts of up to 100 kph also could topple electrical wires and trigger power outages. Forecasts call for rain showers on Monday and a chance of rain and snow showers by early Tuesday.
With two metres of snow on the ground, residents are packing up valuables and schools are closed in advance of possible flooding.
Environment Canada has also issued a special weather statement for Monday, warning that much of Southern Ontario — especially the Greater Toronto area — is in for heavy rain, high winds and possible localized flooding.
Residents of flood-prone areas around Buffalo should move valuables up from the basement, pack a bag and prepare for the possibility of evacuation, Gov. Andrew Cuomo warned Sunday.
“Err on the side of caution,” Cuomo said at a news conference in Cheektowaga. “You prepare for the worst and hope for the best, and that’s what we’re doing.”
Across the Buffalo region, people took that advice to heart.
In Hamburg, Pete Yeskoot bought a portable generator to make sure his sump pump will keep working once the roughly 80 inches of snow that fell on his property melts. Possessions are up on blocks in the basement and he has food for several days.
“Behind us is an 18-mile creek so everything in the village will come through us at some point, so we have to get ready for the possibility of flooding,” he said. “And given all this snow, we have to expect that this is real.”
READ MORE: Warming trend brings flooding worries for Buffalo
WATCH: Snow is beginning to melt outside of Buffalo, NY and officials are concerned it could cause flooding in the area. Anthony Farnell reports.
Rain fell Sunday, with temperatures rising to 50. It was expected to be even warmer Monday, accompanied by more rain and rising winds, leading to the threat of toppled trees and power outages.
National Guard members spent Sunday clearing storm drains and culverts to facilitate runoff, and shoveling snow off roofs.
The National Weather Service said core samples of the deep snowpack showed it contained as much as 6 inches of water. Forecasters said some stretches of road in urban areas might become submerged under several feet of water if storm drains remained clogged.
The melt could first cause basements to fill up and roads to flood, but another concern was creeks overflowing. In West Seneca, there was already a sewer pump stationed near Michelle Pikula’s house along the Buffalo Creek.
“Hopefully the rain won’t be here until later and this will be a slow thaw, but flooding is our major, major concern here,” she said.
WATCH: As an unprecedented amount of snow begins to melt around the Buffalo area, West Seneca residents were already preparing Sunday night for possible flooding.
Cuomo said evacuation plans and emergency shelters were being readied in case of flooding Sunday night and Monday. As a backup to Red Cross shelters, Cuomo said the state would have shelters at community colleges and state university campuses.
The state Thruway, which had been closed for 132 miles at the height of the lake-effect storm last week, was entirely open Sunday. All driving bans were lifted except in Lackawanna, where snow-removal crews worked to open up streets that had become parking lots with hundreds of abandoned, buried vehicles.
Most snow-affected school districts remained closed Monday, and at least four called off classes for the entire Thanksgiving week.
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