NATIONAL STORM SUMMARY

JUNE 2018

 

2-8: Early-week showers were heaviest in parts of the south-central U.S.  In Texas, record-setting totals included 4.23 inches (on June 4) in Del Rio and 2.72 inches (on June 2) in San Angelo.  By mid-week, downpours associated with a surge of tropical moisture drenched the western and central Gulf Coast regions.  Daily-record amounts for June 5 reached 7.01 inches in Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX, and 4.60 inches in Lake Charles, LA.  Mid-week showers also swept across the Northeast, where Montpelier, VT, also collected a daily-record total (1.45 inches) for June 5.  During the second half of the week, frequent showers affected the South.  On June 6, Bristol, TN (1.98 inches) and North Little Rock, AR (1.58 inches), notched daily-record totals.  The following day, record-setting amounts for June 7 included 2.80 inches in Memphis, TN; 2.57 inches in Anniston, AL; and 1.79 inches in London, KY.  Roanoke, VA, netted a daily-record sum (2.68 inches) on June 8.  Elsewhere, a few late-week showers spread across the Northwest, where Hoquiam, WA, received a daily-record total (0.48 inch) on June 7.

 

9-15: Weekly rainfall totaled 1 to 2 inches or more across large sections of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin.  Meanwhile, scattered showers across the Plains maintained adequate to locally excessive soil moisture.  Some of the wettest conditions lingered across the southeastern Plains, while drought was limited to a small area along and near the Canadian border.  Farther east, abundant rainfall provided additional Southeastern drought relief, especially in the southern Atlantic States.  Rainfall totaled 2 to 4 inches or more in many locations from Florida to the Mid-Atlantic coastal plain.  Locally heavy showers, mainly across the Midwest and East, led to several record-setting rainfall totals.  Daily-record amounts in excess of 2 inches included 4.53 inches (on June 11) in Savannah, GA; 4.08 inches (on June 12) in downtown Charleston, SC; 2.10 inches (on June 9) in Asheville, NC; and 2.03 inches (on June 14) in Antigo, WI.  The 4.53-inch total in Savannah represented its wettest day since September 11, 2017, when 4.74 inches fell.  In addition, Savannah received 10.92 inches of rain from June 5-12.  At week’s end, widespread rainfall developed across the Midwest and Northeast.  Record-setting rainfall totals for June 15 reached 3.85 inches in Indianapolis, IN; 1.52 inches in Dayton, OH; and 1.49 inches in Quincy, IL.  The previous wettest June day in Indianapolis had been June 7, 1963, when 3.80 inches fell.

 

16-22: Worsening wetness across parts of the nation’s midsection, primarily from the east-central Plains into the lower Ohio Valley, triggered new rounds of flooding Widespread showers slowed fieldwork across a much larger area of the Plains, Midwest, South, and East.  However, a few spots, including the upper Great Lakes region and the southern High Plains, avoided most of the rain.  The week began in the midst of a heavy-rainfall event from the southern Plains into the lower Midwest.  In Texas, record setting rainfall totals for June 16 reached 3.42 inches in Tyler, 3.10 inches in Waco, and 2.42 inches in Dallas-Fort Worth.  On the same date, record-setting amounts in the Ohio Valley included 3.12 inches in Evansville, IN, and 2.38 inches in Cincinnati, OH.  Heavy rain also soaked parts of the Plains, where Imperial, NE, received 4.14 inches on June 16-17.  By mid-week, heavy showers persisted in the eastern Corn Belt and spread to parts of the northern Plains and the Northeast.  Daily-record totals for June 19 included 2.65 inches in Columbus, OH; 2.52 inches in Reading, PA; and 2.06 inches in Mobridge, SD.  The following day, record-setting Northeastern rainfall amounts for June 20 topped the 2-inch mark in Philadelphia, PA (2.87 inches), and Montpelier, VT (2.55 inches).  In Michigan, Kalamazoo netted 3.08 inches on June 19-20.  From June 21-23, impressive rainfall drenched the east-central Plains, with more than an inch occurring each day in Kansas locations such as Lawrence and Topeka.  Three-day

totals reached 5.02 inches in Lawrence and 4.28 inches in Topeka.  During the same June 21-23 period, amounts in Missouri totaled 5.84 inches in Kirksville, 5.56 inches in Kansas City, and 4.48 inches in Saint Joseph.  Finally, snow blanketed parts of the northern and central Rockies, starting on June 20 and continuing into the first weekend of astronomical summer.  Totals in excess of a foot were noted at a few sites in western Colorado at elevations above 9,000 feet, while as much as a half-foot fell in Gallatin County, MT.  

 

23-29: Heavy showers and locally severe thunderstorms erupted across the upper Midwest, causing pockets of flash flooding.  Heavy showers also soaked parts of the western Gulf Coast region and the mid-South. Despite an overall drier pattern, several rounds of heavy rain affected the mid-South and the upper Midwest.  On June 23, daily-record rainfall totals included 4.27 inches in Fayetteville, AR, and 2.30 inches in Greenville, MS.  The following day in Deep South Texas, record-setting totals for June 24 reached 3.30 inches in McAllen and 2.06 inches in Brownsville.  A few days later, heavy showers developed across the nation’s northern tier.  At Holter Dam near Helena, MT, rainfall in a 24-hour period on June 26-27 totaled 2.50 inches.  On the 28th, Rochester, MN, experienced its wettest June day on record, with a sum of 4.90 inches.  Previously, Rochester’s wettest June day had occurred on June 1, 2000, when 4.80 inches fell.  Rain also fell in the Pacific Northwest, where Bellingham, WA, received a daily-record total (0.88 inch) for June 27.  Late in the week, heavy showers returned across the mid-South.  Daily-record rainfall totals were established on June 23 and 29 in locations such as Texarkana, AR (2.62 and 2.71 inches, respectively), and Shreveport, LA (2.06 and 1.03 inches).

 

Jim G. Munley, jr.
http://www.jimmunleywx.com