A study of the lines of equal rainfall shown on indicates that the storm was most severe over the Green Mountains of Vermont and the Berkshire Hills of western Massachusetts. The highest recorded rainfall for the storm was at Somerset, Vt., where the total precipitation was 9.65 inches. The area of the Green Mountains was not well covered by records of precipitation, and it is possible that considerably greater amounts of rain fell over much of their higher portion. This possibility is shown to some extent by the high rates of discharge per square mile on the White River and on the Winooski River and its tributaries. 

  A secondary storm center of great intensity covered an area in western Rhode Island and eastern Connecticut and extended northward over the Blackstone Valley to Worcester, Mass. The highest recorded precipitation for this area was 9.37 inches at Westerly, R. I.  This area was fairly well covered with rain gages, and it is likely that no rainfall of much greater intensity occurred there. Precipitation of 9 inches or more occurred over a total area of 457 square miles in Vermont but only 40 square miles in Rhode Island and Connecticut. The following table, taken from Goodnough's paper already cited, indicates the areas over which the rainfall exceeded certain amounts: 

  Areas in which rainfall exceeded amounts indicated during storm of November, 1927: 
 
 
 

  From an analysis of the information contained in the table of maximum discharge and total run-off during the flood (pp. 73-79), and from personal observations of the effect of the flood on stream channels in the areas of highest run-off, it has been concluded that the precipitation in the vicinity of Mount Washington, in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, exceeded that of all other sections affected by the storm. Although no rain gages were in operation in the higher parts of the White Mountains during the storm, a study of rainfall data in relation to altitude indicated that the total amount of rainfall increased as the altitude increased. 

  Higher rates for discharge in second-feet per square mile were obtained in the vicinity of Mount Washington than in any other locality. Two independent determinations of discharge were made at points on the Peabody River, which drains an area near the foot of Mount Washington. The drainage area at the upper point is only 43 per cent of that at the lower point, yet the determinations indicate that 74 per cent of the flow at the lower point came from the area of high altitude above the upper point. It is assumed, therefore, that the rainfall in this higher part of the drainage area was much greater than the 6.21 inches recorded near the mouth of the river at Gorham, N. H. 

  Another explanation of the extremely high peak flows in the White Mountain region is that the rainfall may have been abnormally high, possibly of cloudburst proportions, for a period of not over three or four hours. During this time a sufficient quantity of water may have fallen to cause these high peaks. 

  The intensity rather than the total amount of rainfall largely determines the height of the crest of a flood in the headwaters of a stream or near the storm center. Figure 8 shows the hourly rainfall in inches at Northfield, Vt., and the depth of run-off in inches over the drainage area for the gaging station on the Dog River at the same place. The peak of the flood occurred at 6.30 p. m. November 3, following a period of 7 hours of intensive rainfall. During this time the precipitation averaged about half an inch an hour. After the peak passed the storm continued for 16 hours, during which nearly 3 inches of rain fell, or one-third of the total precipitation. The ratio of the crest hourly run-off to the crest hourly rainfall is 43 per cent; and the ratio of the total storm run-off to the total storm rainfall is 62 per cent. These percentages are subject to large error owing to the fact that the rainfall record applies to a single spot in the drainage area, whereas the run-off recorded is that collected from the whole drainage basin above Northfield. At points down the river, farther removed from the storm center, the peak discharges are more nearly proportional to the total precipitation. 

  Floods on streams in New England during November, 1927, were caused by excessively heavy rains on November 2-4, falling on ground that was well saturated from rains during October. The areas of greatest recorded rainfall were in Vermont, eastern and western Massachusetts, and Rhode Island, and floods causing considerable damage to property and loss of human life followed immediately. So heavy was the rain that the floods attained destructive proportions hours before the rain had ceased, and, most unfortunately, over much of the area they occurred during the night. 

  The greatest floods occurred in the Hudson Valley of New York, virtually all of Vermont and New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and western Connecticut. There were lesser floods in western Maine, eastern Connecticut, and Rhode Island. The flood was most severe in the White and Winooski Valleys of Vermont, where the loss of life and property marked the disaster as the greatest in the history of the valleys. Only slightly less disastrous were the floods in the Connecticut Valley, the Lake Champlain drainage basin, and the basins of smaller streams in Massachusetts and Connecticut. One very remarkable feature was the rapidity with which the rivers rose. There was no time for preparation except in the lower Connecticut Valley, and in many places not even time for escape. Tragedy followed upon tragedy in such rapid succession that the people were stunned and helpless for a time, and the losses of life and property were staggering for an area comparatively so small. 

  The October precipitation in the Winooski Valley was about 50 per cent in excess of the normal, so that when the November rains began the ground was well saturated and the brooks were higher than usual. The rainfall from November 2 to 4 broke all records for continuous rain in Vermont and also all 24-hour records. At Burlington the total rainfall for the period was 5.62 inches, of which 4.49 inches fell in 24 hours. At Northfield the total was 8.63 inches, and the 24-hour fall 7.61 inches. Montpelier reported a high-water mark for the Winooski River 3 feet higher than the previous mark, and the entire business district was under 8 to 10 feet of water. The Winooski River drains an area of a little more than 1,000 square miles. Two determinations of the maximum discharge made near the mouth after the flood had subsided indicated that the crest discharge was about 113,000 second-feet, or more than 110 second-feet per square mile. 

  Conditions were much the same over other parts of the Lake Champlain drainage basin. Great damage was done in the valleys of the Missisquoi and Lamoille Rivers and on the headwaters of Otter Creek. 

  At Somerset, Vt., in the Connecticut River Basin, 8.77 inches of rain fell in one day, and the total for the storm 9.65 inches, is the maximum recorded. Other points in Vermont at which the rainfall exceeded 7 inches for November 2-4 are Bennington, 7.36 inches; Cavendish, 7.96 inches; Chelsea, 7.3.5 inches; Rutland, 8.47 inches; Searsburg Mountain, 8.30 inches; Woodstock, 7.38 inches. 

  The average rainfall over the Connecticut Valley for November 3-4 was 4.43 inches (9 stations), with maxima of 6.41 and 6.39 inches at White River Junction and St. Johnsbury, Vt., respectively. Unofficial reports from other points in New Hampshire and Vermont indicated even heavier rains; as much as 15 inches in some mountain sections. The central part of the valley suffered most, especially the tributary basins, as the channels of small streams were wholly unable to carry the flood waters, which rose to unprecedented heights. 

  The principal flood wave in the Connecticut Valley came from the White River, which had a higher run-off per square mile in proportion to the size of its drainage basin than any other stream in New England. At the time White River was discharging its peak flow of 140,000 second-feet, on the morning of the 4th, the Connecticut River above the mouth of the White River was discharging only about 8,000 second-feet. The flood peak from the upper Connecticut basin did not reach the mouth of the White River until the next day and was not severe, the peak discharge being only 25 second-feet per square mile. The only noticeable effect it had upon the flood of the lower Connecticut Basin was to prolong the falling stage. 

   At White River Junction, Vt., the Connecticut River was 5 feet higher than the former record of March, 1913, and at Bellows Falls, Vt., it was 6.6 feet higher than in 1913. At Springfield, Mass., the crest was only 0.2 foot above the previous record of May 1, 1854, and at Hartford, Conn., the crest was 0.8 foot below the previous record of May 1,1854. Thus it is seen that north of the Connecticut- Massachusetts State line this flood was greater than any previously recorded floods by amounts increasing as the storm center was approached, while south of the State line it had been exceeded by previous great floods. 

  In the Merrimack Valley, although the rainfall averaged more than 5 inches, the flood conditions were not as severe as in other areas. The crest of the flood on the Pemigewasset River at Plymouth, N. H., was 9 feet higher than previously recorded peaks, and at Franklin Junction, on the Merrimack River, it was 7 feet higher. At Lowell and Lawrence, Mass., the crests were 5 and 4 feet respectively below previous records. The hydro graphs of discharge at points on Merrimack River show the progress downstream of the crest of the flood. 

  In the Androscoggin Basin the precipitation was less than in the region to the west but was sufficient to cause flood stages in the upper reaches of the river. In the Rangeley Lake district the flood was the highest known, and between Gorham, N. H., and the Maine boundary it was from 3 to 4 feet above any previous record. At Rumford, the crest was 0.3 foot lower than in 1895. Outside the Androscoggin system, flood stages in the State of Maine were not unusual in height, though unusual in the season of their occurrence. 

  In the Hudson River Basin the rainfall was heavy over the Mohawk and upper Hudson Valleys, yet the greater part of the water came from the eastern tributaries, which have their sources in Vermont and northern Massachusetts. Batten Kill at Battenville, N. Y., discharged 51 second-feet per square mile; Hoosic River near Eagle Bridge, N. Y., 58 second-feet per square mile; Poesten Kill near Troy, N. Y., 81 second-feet per square mile. The Hudson River was not in flood much above Troy. At this place the crest was 6.7 feet above flood stage, and at Albany 4.9 feet above flood stage. 

  Soon after the recession of the flood waters it became clear from the available information that this was by far the worst flood that New England has known in modern times. Field examinations and computations of flood flows indicated that the streams in western Vermont, particularly, reached heights and velocities considerably beyond the flood of 1869, although the recorded rainfall of this storm was less than that of the storm of 1869. The greatest damage was done in valleys traversed by rivers rising along the divide between the Connecticut River basin and the Hudson and Lake Champlain Basins. Damage along the lower Connecticut was due mostly to flooding, but in the upper tributaries and the Lake Champlain Basin most of the losses resulted from high velocity of flow. The damage in the Winooski, White, Lamoille, and Missisquoi Valleys was the greatest, although the Passumpsic, Otter, and Hoosic Valleys were badly flooded. 

  In New England freshets of considerable magnitude occur rather regularly in the spring, but destructive floods occur so seldom that the possibility of a flood as great as that of November, 1927, had not been considered. The ordinary spring freshet discharges 15 to 30 second-feet per square mile from small drainage areas; the maximum during a 10-year period has seldom reached more than 50 second-feet per square mile. For instance, the 12-year record on the Westfield River near Westfield, Mass., shows a maximum discharge, in April 1924, of 49 second-feet per square mile from an area of 496 square miles. Farther upstream, at Knightville, Mass., the maximum discharge in a period of 18 years occurred at the same time and reached 65second-feet per square mile from an area of 162 square miles. On the Pemigewasset River at Plymouth, N. H., over a period of 24 years the maximum flow occurred in 1923, with a discharge of 46 second-feet per square mile from an area of 615 square miles. Over a period of 14 years on the White River at West Hartford, Vt., the maximum flow of 44 second-feet per square mile from an area of 687 square miles occurred in 1913. The 15-year record on the Winooski River at Montpelier, Vt., where the drainage area in 420 square miles, indicates a maximum flow, in 1912, of 48 second-feet per square mile. On the Connecticut River at Sunderland, Mass., where the drainage area is 8,000 square miles, a record covering 23 years gives a maximum discharge of 17 second-feet per square mile in 1913. 

  In view of these records it is not surprising that dam spillways and bridge openings were found woefully inadequate to pass the flood flow resulting from the great storm of November, 1927, a flow that greatly exceeded any recorded discharge in this region. The failure may have been due in part to the old practice of building dams without the services of capable engineers. It is imperative that all dams built in the future be designed to pass safely flood flows at least as great as the largest that occurred in 1927 in the respective drainage basins. In general, the flood flows reached a maximum of well over 100 second-feet per square mile, and several determinations show 300 to 500 second-feet per square mile. It is doubtful if any dam spillways in the area of maximum flood discharges had sufficient capacity to pass the flood safely except where the flow was controlled in part by storage.