This page contains photos of weather related events that have taken place over the years. Modern photos (post 1970) taken by Joe Roberts except where noted.
1955 Flood, Mountain Rd A view of the truly historic damage to Mountain Road as a result of the 1955 flood. This photo looks south along Mountain Rd just south of the Kittredge House. Note the extreme erosion and undermining of the road surface! Some people compared the flooding of 200 to 1955, clearly these two events were in a different class. (Thanks to Larry for the photo!)
1955 Flood, Mountain Road Another remarkable photo showing the catastrophic damage to Mountain Rd as a result of the 1955 flood. This photo shows that the road has been nearly wiped off the mountain! Note the depth of the gorge and the size of the rocks that are left exposed by this event! (Thanks to Larry for the photo!)
1955 Flood, Mountain Road A photo that shows the damage to the Kittredge field (just north of the Kittredge house). This photo shows a large ditch where a field used to be! The water (running along the road) chose this point to exit and go back into the stream bed (quite some distance from this area). According to one of the Wilbraham History books, several thousand cubic yards of fill were needed to repair the damage to this area of the mountain. (Thanks to Larry for the photo!)
Repairs to Rt 20, 15 October 2005 Heavy equipment making repairs to Rt 20 in the aftermath of the "Flood of October 2005". At least 12" of rain fell between 8 and 15 October, with approximately 6" of rain overnight on 14-15 October. 12 Mile Brook apparently came over the road here, I heard reports of the water being 1 foot deep on the road. A large gully existed on the south side of the road as a result of the flood waters, the large excavator is compacting the fill. A few miles up the road, the underpass at the junction of Rt 20 and 181 had 3 to 4 feet of water in it, and remained closed for at least 2 days.
Red Bridge Dam, 15 October 2005 Very high water over Red Bridge Dam at North Wilbraham. The last time I saw the water this high was the spring of 1984. A lot of people visited the dam today, one man from the area stated that his rain gauge overflowed at 7" from the night previous!
Red Bridge Dam, 15 October 2005 A view of Red Bridge Dam from below.
Red Bridge Dam, 15 October 2005 Churning waters below Red Bridge Dam, a place where fishermen often fish. Not today! The places where people fish from are 4 to 5 deep in water when this photo was taken!
Mill River at Boy Scout Camp near Stony Hill Rd, 15 Ocotber 2005 The normally 3 foot wide Mill River has swollen significantly today! Photo contributed by Bruce Tingle.
12 Mile Brook, 15 October 2005 A view of the water of 12 Mile Brook on the east side of Crane Hill Road. Photo contributed by Bruce Tingle.
12 Mile Brook, 15 October 2005 The view from the other side of the road, where 2 brooks merge to one. The water here is far higher than normal! Photo contributed by Bruce Tingle.
12 Mile Brook, 1955 Flood Not sure exactly where this was taken, however it is an image of part of 12 Mile Brook after the 1955 flood.
Boston Road, 1955 Flood Some of the tremendous damage caused by the 1955 flood. This shot is actually in Palmer,believe it is looking east towards the underpass (the one where the rail tracks go overhead).
Train Bridge, 1955 Flood A view of the railroad bridge that crosses from Wilbraham to the Ludlow Mills complex. This shot was taken from about where Horizons restaurant now stands. Anyone who is familiar with this bridge knows that this photo shows extremely high water! Normally it is quite a drop from the bridge to the water level...
Railroad Washout, 1955 Flood This is a shot of the washed out railroad tracks along Rt. 20 (note the tracks and power lines dangling in air). The dam for Collins Mill (upstream on 12 Mile Brook failed; the torrential flood of water and debris clogged up the culvert, causing a massive backup of water in the valley and eventual failure of the embankment. Thousands of cubic yards of material were needed to rebuild this area in the aftermath.
Nine Mile Pond Food Stand Believe this photo shows the aftermath of the 1955 flood... note the water level of the pond (up and over the road that circles around part of the pond). Although it is not discernable in this web quality photo, the sign lists "Sealtest" ice cream, including 10 flavors, "Double Dip Sundaes", "Giant Milkshakes", sandwiches and hamburgers. Also, the sign on the side of the building shows a price of $1.15 for a half gallon of Sealtest ice cream!
June 2000 Flood Some serious erosion on Mountain Rd. in front of the Kittredge house. The last time that the water was higher than this was during the 1955 flood. This part of Mountain Road has a history of washout problems due to the manner in which the stream parallels and crosses the road (complicated by the huge volume of water that the Wilbraham Mountain can channel to this area). Road improvements in 2002 should help to prevent washouts from all but the most severe storms.
June 2000 Flood Another view of the road damage resulting from the flood waters in June 2000.
4 July 2002 Thunderstorm Some violent thunderstorms hit the Wilbraham area in the late afternoon of July 4, 2002. Some of the storms had hurricane force winds, resulting in damage typical of that shown here. This large tree (downed just up the hill from Grace Union Church) caused a good part of Wilbraham Mountain to be without power for about 10 hours.
Deep Snow: 6 Feb 2001 A snowstorm on 6 February 2001 dumped about 18 inches of snow on an already significant base. Here is a measurement (using a yardstick) of the typical snow depth!.
Deep Snow: 6 February 2001 This shot of a picnic table in the backyard gives an idea of the depth of the snow on this date. As can be seen, the snow depth is just about even with the table surface.
Deep Snow Back when we had "real winter" with significant amounts of snow. Note here that the snow banks on the roadside are up to the level of the mailboxes!.
Road Repair after '55 Flood Heavy equipment making repairs to Rt 20 after the washout caused by the 1955 flood.
Road Repair after '55 Flood Heavy equipment making repairs washout caused by the 1955 flood. Believe this photo shows work being done on Crane Hill Rd.
Flood Damage to Railroad Tracks Damage to the railroad tracks (along Rt 20) as a result of the 1955 flood.
Railroad Tracks left Hanging This shot gives some idea of the magnitude of the disaster caused by the 1955 flood. In addition to the tracks, note the utility poles hanging along side the tracks!
More photos coming!