It’s Raining Heavily in Otsego County, New York

Before you call me Captain Obvious, the headline is a play on my pondering about Fishers, woodland creatures that despite living in a rural part of Otsego County, I have not seen or heard any Fishers in my time here.

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But now that I've got your attention, let's talk about today's weather. First and foremost, as you will hear just about every meteorologist say during these events, "turn around, don't drown". On the topic, the National Weather Service says: "Each year, more deaths occur due to flooding than from any other thunderstorm related hazard. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that over half of all flood-related drownings occur when a vehicle is driven into hazardous flood water. The next highest percentage of flood-related deaths is due to walking into or near flood waters. People underestimate the force and power of water. Many of the deaths occur in cars swept downstream. Many of these drownings are preventable. Never drive around the barriers blocking a flooded road. The road may have collapsed under that water.  A mere 6 inches of fast-moving flood water can knock over an adult. It takes just 12 inches of rushing water to carry away most cars and just 2 feet of rushing water can carry away SUVs and trucks. It is NEVER safe to drive or walk into flood waters."

With this in mind, if you see standing water on the roadways, best practice is to avoid it and find another route to use.

As of 10am on December 18th, our region is under a flash flood warning for Central Delaware County, and Eastern Otsego County until 2:00pm according to the National Weather Service in Binghamton due to the estimated 1.5-2.5 inches of rain that have fallen. An additional inch is expected in the area.

A second alert pushed at 10:21am is a flash flood warning that remains in effect until 2:00pm on Monday, December 18th. For our area, it covers Southern Chenango County, and Southwestern Otsego County due to the estimated 1.5-2.5 inches of rain that have fallen, with the possibility of another 2 inches to come. This includes Oneonta.

Flash flooding of small creeks and streams, urban areas, highways, streets and underpasses as well as other poor drainage and low-lying areas.

All photos in this article were taken today across the region.