NATIONAL STORM SUMMARY

JUNE 2024

2-8: A final week of extremely active weather across the central and eastern U.S. featured heavy showers and locally severe thunderstorms, although tornadic activity diminished as compared to previous weeks. Streaks of extremely heavy rain, locally 4 inches or more, stretched from Kansas into southern Missouri and from the southeastern Plains toward the Mississippi Delta. Significant rain (1 to 2 inches or more) also fell in other places, including an area stretching from the upper Great Lakes region into northern New England and spotty locations across the central and southern High Plains and the Southeast.

Much-needed rain dampened some of the driest areas of the central Plains, with Dodge City, KS, receiving 5.69 inches during the first 9 days of June. Dodge City’s wettest day was June 2, when a daily record sum of 2.94 inches occurred. For the year to date through June 9, Dodge City’s precipitation increased to 9.21 inches (108 percent of normal). Other areas receiving heavy precipitation on June 2 included the northern Plains and the Northwest. Record-setting rainfall totals for June 2 reached 1.92 inches in Astoria, OR; 1.87 inches in Hoquiam, WA; 1.79 inches in Brainerd, MN; and 1.68 inches in Jamestown, ND. Locally heavy showers continued into June 3, when daily-record amounts included 1.83 inches in Ashland, WI, and 1.45 inches in Fort Smith, AR, along with 0.87 inch in Pullman, WA, and 0.63 inch in Stanley, ID. As showers shifted eastward, Raleigh-Durham, NC, netted a record-setting rainfall of 1.85 inches on June 4. Additional rainfall in the southern and eastern U.S. on June 5 led to daily-record amounts in locations such as Wilmington, DE (3.13 inches); Columbia, MO (1.60 inches); and Harrisburg, PA (1.40 inches). Meanwhile, localized lowland flooding affected portions of the western Gulf Coast region. Some of the most significant flooding was reported in eastern Texas, where the Trinity River at Trinidad crested 14.21 feet above flood stage on June 6. This marked the sixth-highest water level on record in Trinidad—and the highest since December 3, 2015. Late in the week, additional thunderstorms peppered the Plains and Midwest, with daily-record totals being observed in Broken Bow, NE (3.03 inches on June 7), and Springfield, MO (2.46 inches on June 8).

9-15: Abruptly heavy rain across southern Florida vanquished drought but led to flash flooding. June 7- 15 totals exceeding a foot were common, affecting locations such as Fort Myers (12.88 inches), Miami (14.19 inches), and Fort Lauderdale (15.01 inches), with the heaviest rain generally falling on June 11, 12, or 13.

Variable rainfall in the nation’s mid-section included widespread thunderstorms across the northern and central Plains and upper Midwest. Storms also dotted Texas and environs.

Florida’s deluge grabbed most of the precipitation highlights. On June 11, daily-record totals in Florida included 6.47 inches in Sarasota-Bradenton, 3.99 inches in Gainesville, 3.94 inches in Naples, and 3.30 inches in Fort Lauderdale. For Sarasota-Bradenton, it was the wettest day in almost 2 years, since September 28, 2022, when 6.67 inches fell during the passage of Hurricane Ian. The next day, daily-record amounts for June 12 reached 9.54 inches in Fort Lauderdale and 3.86 inches in Fort Myers. For Fort Lauderdale, it was also the wettest June day on record, surpassing 8.60 inches on June 2, 1930. Elsewhere in southeastern Florida, calendar-day totals on June 12 included 7.92 inches in Pembroke Pines, 6.44 inches in Pompano Beach, and 6.25 inches in Miami. Fort Myers measured another daily-record sum on June 13, with 4.54 inches. By June 14, heavy showers shifted a bit to the north, where daily-record rainfall totaled 2.95 inches in Winter Haven and 2.46 inches in Sarasota-Bradenton. Elsewhere, much of the week was mostly uneventful, in terms of rain, except in parts of the central U.S. In Colorado, Pueblo measured a daily-record total of 1.62 inches on June 9. Some storms contained high winds, with Rochester, MN, clocking a peak gust to 61 mph on June 13.

16-22: Repeated thunderstorms struck the upper Midwest, submerging fields, closing rural roads, resulting in pockets of record river flooding, and causing localized wind and hail damage. Some of the heaviest rain, 2 to 6 inches or more, fell from parts of northern Nebraska and southern and eastern South Dakota into the upper Great Lakes region, including northern Iowa and southern Minnesota. A portion of the upper Midwestern deluge originated in the tropics, including moisture associated with the remnants of Tropical Storm Alberto. On June 20, Alberto moved inland near Tampico, Mexico, with heavy showers extending northward into southern Texas. More broadly, tropical showers dotted the Gulf Coast region, a week after southern Florida’s drought-ending deluge. Tropically enhanced moisture was also entrained into the Southwestern monsoon circulation, with heavy showers occurring as far west as eastern sections of Arizona and Utah.

clockwise circulation across the U.S., heavy showers developed across portions of the Plains and Midwest. By June 17, daily-record totals included 2.49 inches in Lansing, MI, and 1.05 inches in Valentine, NE. High temperatures on the 17th peaked at 45°F in Montana communities such as Cut Bank and Great Falls. The following day, record-setting totals for June 18 reached 3.42 inches in Hibbing, MN; 2.13 inches in Grand Forks, ND; and 1.20 inches in Great Falls, MT.

A broad, clockwise circulation across the U.S., heavy showers developed across portions of the Plains and Midwest. By June 17, daily-record totals included 2.49 inches in Lansing, MI, and 1.05 inches in Valentine, NE. High temperatures on the 17th peaked at 45°F in Montana communities such as Cut Bank and Great Falls. The following day, record-setting totals for June 18 reached 3.42 inches in Hibbing, MN; 2.13 inches in Grand Forks, ND; and 1.20 inches in Great Falls, MT. Elsewhere on the 18th, maximum temperatures remained below the 60-degree mark in North Dakota locations such as Minot (55°F) and Jamestown (58°F). On June 19, the day before Tropical Storm Alberto’s arrival along Mexico’s Gulf Coast, record-setting rainfall totals in Texas reached 4.29 inches in McAllen and 3.11 inches in Palacios. A separate area of rain led to record-setting amounts for the 19th in St. Joseph, MO (2.24 inches), and Madison, WI (1.19 inches). During the second half of the week, rainfall greatly intensified across the upper Midwest, with record-setting totals in South Dakota for June 20 climbing to 4.87 inches in Mitchell, 3.50 inches in Sioux Falls, and 2.58 inches in Huron. A second day of record rainfall occurred on June 21, with Sioux Falls recording 2.99 inches and Mitchell netting 2.83 inches. The heavy rain carried through June 22, when daily-record amounts included 2.55 inches in Wausau, WI, and 2.51 inches in Rochester, MN. Through June 22, monthto-date rainfall in South Dakota totaled 10.80 inches in Sioux Falls and 10.05 inches in Mitchell; Estherville, IA, received 9.87 inches. (Elsewhere in Iowa, June 1-22 rainfall in Ottumwa totaled 0.24 inch, just 6 percent of normal.) The level of the West Fork Des Moines River at Emmetsburg, IA, topped 15.4 feet (4.4 feet above flood stage) on June 24, eclipsing the high-water mark of 14.75 feet set on April 12, 1969. Record flooding also unfolded in parts of the Big Sioux River basin, where the Rock River at Rock Rapids, MN, crested 15.47 feet above flood stage on June 22, eclipsing the June 2014 peak crest by 1.49 feet. Near-record flooding was noted in parts of eastern South Dakota, where the James River near Mitchell climbed 6.65 feet above flood stage on June 23; this was just 1.68 feet below the April 2001 record crest.

23-29: The Southwestern monsoon circulation became more fully established, a little earlier than normal, with thundershowers peppering the Four Corners States and aiding wildfire containment efforts. Some of the Southwestern moisture was entrained by cold fronts crossing the central and eastern U.S., helping to locally enhance rainfall. Some of the heaviest showers dotted the Midwest.  Locally heavy showers also fell in other areas, including the northern half of the Plains, the Northeast, and the lower Southeast. Those rains provided generally beneficial moisture for vegetative to reproductive summer crops.

Record flooding lingered early in the week in the Big Sioux and Little Sioux River basins, as well as the Floyd River basin in Iowa and the Vermillion River basin in South Dakota. Many of the previous high water marks in the Big Sioux River basin had been set in mid-June 2014 or mid-March 2019. Along the Little Sioux River, many of the former records had been set in late-June 2018 or mid-March 2019, although the previous high-water mark at Correctionville, IA, set on June 23, 1891, was topped by 1.58 feet on June 24. Meanwhile, early week thunderstorms swept away heat in the Northeast, where Caribou, ME, netted a daily-record total (1.70 inches) for June 23. In the Southwest, Flagstaff, AZ, received 1.23 inches of rain during the last 8 days of the month, aided by a daily-record sum (0.91 inch) on June 25. North of Phoenix, AZ, the Boulder View Fire—ignited on June 27—quickly grew to more than 3,700 acres and resulted in some evacuations. Northeast of Fresno, CA, the Basin Fire—active since June 26—grew to more than 12,000 acres with no containment reported. Mid-week showers dotted various parts of the West, resulting in daily-record totals for June 26 in Ely, NV (1.58 inches), and Ontario, OR (0.38 inch). Ely’s previous wettest June day occurred in 1963, when 1.44 inches fell on the 10th. Widespread Western showers lingered through June 27, when daily-record amounts reached 0.56 inch in Winslow, AZ, and 0.44 inch in Townsend, MT. Simultaneously, thunderstorms across the nation’s mid-section led to daily-record totals in Missouri locations such as Poplar Bluff (4.13 inches) and St. Joseph (2.64 inches). For Poplar Bluff, it was also the wettest June day on record, surpassing 4.00 inches on June 4, 1928. The following day, record-setting totals for June 27 reached 2.33 inches in New Orleans, LA, and 2.04 inches in Childress, TX. Late in the week, thunderstorms remained active across the South, where daily-record amounts totaled 3.44 inches in Lake Charles, LA, and 2.48 inches in Leesburg, FL. Thunderstorms sweeping through the Northeast on June 29 led to daily-record totals in New York locations such as Buffalo (1.66 inches) and Rochester (1.32 inches).

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