Flood, Wayne
- When
- April 20, 7:00 AM EST to April 21, 5:00 AM EST
- Where
- Wayne forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 42.285, -83.261 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flood in Michigan, April 20 to 21, 1996
Low pressure tracked northeast across the western Great Lakes during the evening of the 19th and early morning on the 20th, bringing locally heavy rains to southeast Michigan. 22 inches was measured at Detroit's metro airport.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 1
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
What happened
The episode as NWS DTX wrote it up.
Low pressure tracked northeast across the western Great Lakes during the evening of the 19th and early morning on the 20th, bringing locally heavy rains to southeast Michigan. A rainfall total of 1.22 inches was measured at Detroit's metro airport. As a result, the Middle Rouge River near Garden City went over its 7.0 foot flood stage at around 8 am on the 20th. The river crested at 8.5 feet around 10 pm on the 20th, then fell below flood stage at 6 am on the 21st. The Edward Hines parkway near Garden City was closed during the flood event, but no damage was reported.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Flood
- Flooding that develops more slowly than a flash flood: rivers leaving their banks, or water standing over land for an extended time.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Damaging Wind in Indiana, April 20, 1996
- Tornado in Kentucky, April 20, 1996
- Tornado in Tennessee, April 20, 1996
- Tornado in Kentucky, April 20, 1996
- Tornado in Indiana, April 20, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Mississippi, April 20, 1996
- Tornado in Indiana, April 20, 1996
- Tornadoes in Tennessee, April 20, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Tennessee, April 20, 1996
- Tornado in Kentucky, April 20, 1996
- Flood in Michigan, April 20 to 27, 1996
- Tornado in Indiana, April 20, 1996
More
Every storm in Michigan in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in Michigan, April 1996
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5548764.