Wellsville declares state of emergency due to flash floods

(This story has been updated to add new information.)

Flash flooding occurred in the Wellsville area on Saturday evening, prompting the National Weather Service to issue a flash flood warning for southern Allegany County.

The City of Wellsville declared a state of emergency as of 7:15 p.m. The National Weather Service's flash flood warning was extended to 12:30 a.m. from the original estimate of 10:15 p.m.

“Numerous roads remain closed due to flooding,” the National Weather Service said around 8:30 p.m. “It will take several hours for all of the water from these storms to disappear through local sewer systems in urban areas.”

As of 7:43 p.m., up to 3.5 inches of rain had fallen, with another 0.5 inches possible, according to the National Weather Service. Flash flooding occurred in Wellsville, Whitesville, Scio, Andover, Belmont and Stannards.

As heavy rains hit the area Saturday night, flash floods overflowed a drainage culvert on Madison Street in Wellsville, turning the sidewalk into a creek.

Heavy rain and hail hit the area on Saturday evening as a powerful thunderstorm moved through the county.

The Genesee River was not expected to flood. The level at the Wellsville gauge rose from 4.31 feet earlier in the day to 6.34 feet by 7:30 p.m. Saturday evening.