I Remember Hurricane Agnes

Here are some pictures along the Allegany Reservoir, taken in May 2002, just about 30 years after the event. There had been a fair amount of water flowing through the reservoir then, and thoughts of Hurricane Agnes were on my mind when I was taking these pictures.

The sign on the utility pole at the Onoville Marina along the Allegany Reservoir says it all. I first saw a picture of this sign when I was in high school earth science class. Our teacher gave us a stark reminder that there was higher land northwest of the reservoir, keeping the village of Randolph from flooding, as the village was well below the high water mark.

Another high water mark painted on the inside wall of the Kinzua Dam tells us that Agnes' rain got that high, saving Warren and downstream rivers from heavier flooding.

Some time ago, I contacted a webmaster at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Pittsburgh District, who oversees the Kinzua Dam. He verified the Allegany Reservoir's high water mark of 1,362.17 feet above sea level.

This is where the water normally pours out of the Kinzua Dam, just east along the Allegany River from Warren, PA.