June was one of the wettest months in recent history

PORT CLINTON – As city streets and parks continue to dry, June 2015 will be remembered in Port Clinton as one of the wettest in recent memory.

The city swam through nearly 4 inches of rain on a single day on Saturday, which capped off a month where the city was drenched by 7.43 inches.

Senior meteorologist for Accuweather Tom Kines said Lake Erie, especially near Marblehead, rose more than a foot after the month of heavy rainfall.

“Usually the lake is 572 to 573 feet deep. After June, it was 574.5 feet deep,” Kines said. “That may not seem like much, but it is a big spike. It is the highest (depth measurement) in the last year.”

Assistant Superintendent Mike Jividen, of the Ottawa County Water Plant, said the facility measured 7.43 inches of rainfall in June.

The rainfall in June 2015 surpassed the total for 2014 by 3 inches while edging out the June 2013 total of 7.09 inches.

The recent storm also produced howling winds that stirred up waves and uprooted trees and utility poles.

Rising waters from the Portage River and Lake Erie spilled onto North Jefferson and North Madison streets, where business owners had placed sandbags in front of doorways to keep water out.

After all was said and done, the storm left many roads and parks flooded and debris strewn throughout the city.

Kines said June was one of the wettest months he has seen, despite June typically being a heavy rain month.

“If it wasn’t the wettest, it has to be in the top three,” he said, citing 1961’s 8.48 inches as the highest June rain totals he has seen.

Water Works Park turned into a small lake from the heavy rains, causing tree limbs to settle along the parking lot.

Tracy Colston, the safety-service director, said service department workers focused on cleaning up the parking lot at Water Works Park and the downed limbs ahead of the Fourth of July weekend and will keep at it the rest of the week.

“We had to put a plow on a truck and plow Lakeshore Drive,” Colston said. “That’s a little odd considering its June, but that’s how we could get the stuff off the road.”

Several other cities also were swamped by rain; Kines said Toledo Metcalf Airport measured 10.8 inches for June.

Rain is not expected over the Independence Day weekend. Accuweather has forecast dry conditions through Tuesday.

cshoup@gannett.com

419-334-1035

Twitter: CraigShoupNH