Freshets

MEDUXNEKEAG SPRING 1968 - 2005

The Meduxnekeag is a highly variable river. Its peak flows are usually during the freshet in mid-spring, when the ice has gone out and the spring rains have combined with melting snow throughout the watershed to raise the water levels to the banks and sometimes above. By mid-summer water levels are often much too low for canoeing, and the large trout have retreated to the river’s deep holes. But even the freshets vary from year to year, and sometimes the highest flow in any year is not during the freshet at all. These measurements were recorded at the hydrographic station at Bell Forest. 

HIGHEST FRESHET YEARS

1973: FLOW PEAKED AT ABOUT 520 CUBIC METRES PER SECOND  APRIL 28-29

1976: FLOW PEAKED AT ABOUT 470 CUBIC METRES PER SECOND  APRIL 1-3

1993: FLOW PEAKED AT ABOUT 425 CUBIC METRES PER SECOND  APRIL 12-15

1995: FLOW PEAKED AT ABOUT 425 CUBIC METRES PER SECOND  APRIL 15-17

LOWEST FRESHET YEARS

1985: FLOW PEAKED AT ABOUT 95 CUBIC METRES PER SECOND  APRIL 15-16

1999: FLOW PEAKED AT ABOUT 115 CUBIC METRES PER SECOND APRIL 10-11

1988: FLOW PEAKED AT ABOUT 125 CUBIC METRES PER SECOND APRIL 4-6

1995: FLOW PEAKED AT ABOUT 140 CUBIC METRES PER SECOND APRIL 13-14

1975: FLOW PEAKED AT ABOUT 143 CUBIC METRES PER SECOND APRIL 18-20

EARLIEST FRESHET

1979: FLOW PEAKED AT ABOUT 420 CUBIC METRES PER SECOND MARCH 25-27

LATEST FRESHET

1972: FLOW PEAKED AT ABOUT 190 CUBIC METRES PER SECOND MAY 4-5

UNCOMMON HIGH WATER YEARS

Usually, the Meduxnekeag experiences its maximum flow for any given year during the freshet in April. In some years, however, the river has an unseasonal flood, often coupled with an unusually low freshet, and its peak flow is at another time of year. Between 1968 and 2005, this has happened in eight years.

1981: PEAK FLOW 215 CUBIC METRES PER SECOND ON OCTOBER 8

1983: PEAK FLOW 420 CUBIC METRES PER SECOND ON NOVEMBER 22

1984: PEAK FLOW 240 CUBIC METRES PER SECOND ON JUNE 3

1986: PEAK FLOW 275 CUBIC METRES PER SECOND ON JANUARY 25

1990: PEAK FLOW 340 CUBIC METRES PER SECOND ON OCTOBER 22

1995: PEAK FLOW 140 CUBIC METRES PER SECOND ON NOVEMBER 15

1999: PEAK FLOW 150 CUBIC METRES PER SECOND ON SEPTEMBER 16

2003: PEAK FLOW 230 CUBIC METRES PER SECOND ON OCTOBER 29