What the Nor’easter Did to Milford’s Shoreline

Updated Sunday, Sept. 27, at 4 p.m.

The nor’easter’s worst flooding in Milford came Saturday, not Sunday. Saturday’s late-morning high tide pushed more than 2 feet of water into streets in spots in South Milford, according to a National Weather Service storm report, and flooding closed part of New Haven Avenue. Sunday’s midday tide, the one forecasters had flagged for moderate flooding, came in lower.

Saturday: Water in the streets

At 10:30 a.m. Saturday, the weather service logged a report of streets flooded “with over 2 ft of inundation in spots in South Milford.” Just before noon, people on Melba Street were knee-deep in floodwater, WTNH reported. The city’s shoreline early warning sirens were activated.

At 12:47 p.m., New Haven Avenue (Route 162) was closed in both directions between Old Gate Lane and Pond Point Avenue because of flooding, according to state 511 data included in the weather service’s storm reports.

“It’s common when the tides are — when it’s the full moon, the tides get high,” Milford resident Dina Allen told WTNH. “But what we had today wasn’t usual.” The water went down Saturday afternoon.

Our neighbors got it too. The Bridgeport ferry terminal was under nearly 2 feet of water Saturday, News 12 reported, and streets around Cosey Beach in East Haven flooded, WTNH reported.

What the tide gauges showed

Milford sits between NOAA’s water-level gauges in Bridgeport and New Haven. Here’s what they recorded, according to preliminary NOAA data, measured against the weather service’s flood thresholds:

• Saturday late morning: Bridgeport peaked at 10.3 feet at 11:24 a.m., just over the moderate flood mark of 10.2 feet. New Haven hit 9.4 feet at 11:06 a.m., just over its moderate mark of 9.3 feet. This was the highest tide of the storm.
• Saturday near midnight: Bridgeport reached 9.7 feet, in the minor flood range. New Haven reached 8.7 feet, right at its minor flood mark.
• Sunday midday: Bridgeport peaked at 9.9 feet and New Haven at 9.0 feet, both at 11:54 a.m. That’s minor flooding at both, short of the moderate flooding the weather service had forecast.

Water levels are in feet above mean lower low water, the baseline NOAA uses for tides. As of Sunday afternoon, we had not found any reports of Milford road closures from Sunday’s tide. If your street flooded, let us know.

Wind knocked out power

The wind caused more trouble than the water for a lot of Milford. Shoreline communities like Milford were hit hardest by the winds, Chuck Eves, UI’s vice president of electrical operations, told WFSB. He said two straight days of heavy wind, with trees still full of leaves, affected about 30,000 UI customers so far, and some customers lost power more than once. Eves said he hopes most, if not all, of UI’s customers will have power back by Sunday night.

Patch’s town-by-town tally, last updated at 2:09 p.m. Sunday, listed 2,523 UI outages in Milford and 461 in Orange. The weather service’s reported gusts included 56 mph at Bridgeport’s airport and 49 mph at Tweed-New Haven Airport, Patch reported.

What’s next: Two more high tides

The weather service canceled the Coastal Flood Warning at 3:14 p.m. Sunday. In its place, a Coastal Flood Advisory covers southern New Haven County from 10 p.m. Sunday to 2 p.m. Monday. It calls for 1 to 1½ feet of water above ground level in vulnerable spots near the waterfront, with shallow flooding of some roads, parking lots, parks, lawns and basements.

NOAA’s predicted high tides for Milford Harbor are 12:33 a.m. and 12:47 p.m. Monday. The weather service forecasts minor flooding at Bridgeport with both, with the midday tide running a bit higher.

The rain isn’t done either. Patch says another half inch is expected Monday, and the storm won’t fully clear the state until Tuesday morning.

Cleaning up

If water got into your home, the city’s post-storm repair guidance says any repairs beyond removing wet drywall and finishes need a building permit. Flood-damaged homes need an inspection first; call Building Inspection at 203-783-3234 and ask for a “Substantial Damage Inspection.”

If your electrical system got wet, a licensed electrician has to examine and repair it before the power can be turned back on. Wiring that got wet, especially with salt water, is a fire risk once it’s re-energized, the city warns.

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