Storms produced heavy rainfall in the Ann Arbor area Monday.
Courtesy of Eric Zwart
Storms throughout the day and into the night Monday resulted in high levels of rainfall across Ann Arbor and the surrounding area.
Within 24 hours, Ann Arbor was hit with between 1.54 and 2.93 inches of rain. Milan saw the most rainfall, with 3.25 inches by 12 a.m. on Tuesday.
“The first heavy rainfall event lasted from about 7 a.m. to about 6 p.m.,” University of Michigan weather observer Dennis Kahlbaum said. “The first event was quite long and then thunderstorms moved through with shorter, but heavier rain imbedded. These came later in the evening and overnight.”
Rainfall of an inch or more is typical of thunderstorms, but Washtenaw County has seen a lot of these heavy rainfalls this year, Kahlbaum said.
“Yesterday’s amount was close to or more than 3 inches in most areas,” Kahlbaum said. “I think we’ve seen some higher amounts, but those would be localized. This time we saw about an inch and a half of rain over Washtenaw County and then local rain, which added an inch to an inch and a half.”
Kahlbaum said these 24-hour amounts are considered to be a "5-year" event. That means there is a 20 percent chance of occurrence in any given year.
The most rainfall Ann Arbor has seen was 4.45 inches in August 1998, according to Kahlbaum.
Hail up to 1.5 inches in diameter was reported five miles northwest of Chelsea and hail 1 inch in diameter was reported just a mile southeast of Dexter at 7 p.m. Monday.
Below are the rainfall totals for Ann Arbor and the surrounding area:
- Ann Arbor Northeast (U-M North Campus): 2.66
- Ann Arbor Southeast: 2.93"
- Ann Arbor Westsouthwest: 2.72"
- Ann Arbor Westnorthwest: 2.78"
- Ann Arbor Airport: 1.54"
- Dexter: 2.48"
- Chelsea: 3.07"
- Milan: 3.25"
- Willow Run Airport: 2.45"
- Detroit Metro Airport: 2.57"
There is a 20 percent chance of rain Tuesday afternoon followed by mostly sunny skies for the rest of the week.
Chelsea Hoedl is an intern reporter for AnnArbor.com. She can be reached at choedl@mlive.com.