Flood in Michigan, June 21 to 25, 1996

The Saginaw river at Saginaw reached its 19.0 foot flood stage at 11 am EDT on the 21st. The river remained near 19.0 feet until falling back below flood stage at noon EDT on the 25th. Low pressure tracked slowly from the central plains on the 17th, east across southern Michigan during the 18th and into the 19th. The heaviest rain across southeast Michigan occurred on the 18th, when radar estimates indicated widespread amounts of 1 to 4 inches. Official totals for the period from the 17th through the 18th included 0.94 inches at Detroit's metro airport, 1.94 inches at Flint, and 3.67 inches at the National Weather Service Forecast Office at White Lake. The result was widespread river flooding across southeast Michigan. The flooding continued the bad spring for area farmers with conditions approaching critical in many areas, as the wet weather continued to delay planting on some fields, while damaging crops on other fields.