Flooding Causes Major Damage at New York's Thunder Ridge Ski Area

Earlier this week, a ski area near the New York/Connecticut border was hit hard by a storm that left massive amounts of damage in just a few minutes.

Thunder Ridge Ski Area had sections of the parking lot, base area, and lower slopes washed out by flash flooding after a torrential downpour. The ski school building had part of its foundation washed out, and mud found its way into the lift ticket office. Ski area equipment, signs, and other debris were washed across the road.

The owner of Thunder Ridge Ski Area, Dean Ryder, told a local news station that the downpour, which dropped more than an inch of rain in 30 minutes on Monday morning, caused a retention pond to breach its dam, creating a fast-moving stream down the mountain. In his 34-years of running the resort, it’s the worst damage he’s ever seen. Ryder estimated $10,000 in damages, most of which would go to replacing the parking lot.

Although Thunder Ridge doesn’t get a ton of natural snow, the ski area does have snowmaking capabilities across 100% of the mountain’s 22 trails.

Reservoirs can provide surge capacity to sustain high pumping rates during certain snowmaking windows and protect nearby creeks and streams from high water withdrawals, among other benefits. However, during a storm like the one that hit Thunder Ridge, flash flooding can be a concern for these bodies of water.

Luckily, no one was injured in the flood at Thunder Ridge. Although the damage is extensive, Thunder Ridge still plans to open in mid-December, as always.