GREENFIELD — Unseasonable heasvty rain on frozen ground caused minor flooding Friday morning that became more severe in the early afternoon.
By 1 p.m. roads were being closed in Montague. A section of Montague City Road along the canal, from Walnut Street to Turnpike Road, was closed first. More road closures were expected, and a moderate flood warning for the Connecticut River had been issued, said a Turners Falls Fire Department dispatcher.
The situation in Greenfield was apparently tamer. A few roads were reduced to one lane, and the Department of Public Works got fewer than 10 calls all day for minor flooding in roads, said Deputy Director Paul Raskevitz.
In both Montague and Greenfield, there was work ongoing throughout the storm, clearing debris from drainage infrastructure. Because the ground is frozen this time of year, Raskevitz said, water runoff in a rainstorm is greater than is typical, and the flow may be above designed capacity for storm drains.
When a storm is expected, road closure signs are pre-emptively brought to low-lying, flood-prone areas in like Nashs Mill Road and Colrain Street in Greenfield, in case the town needs to close the areas on short notice, Raskevitz said.
The Greenfield DPW had two crews on call on Friday, Raskevitz said. The department also keeps staff on call after hours in inclement weather to respond as quickly as possible if necessary.
“We plan for the worst and hope for the best,” Raskevitz said.