Flood, Saginaw
- When
- May 22, 12:00 AM EST to 8:00 AM EST
- Where
- Saginaw forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 43.335, -84.053 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flood in Michigan, May 22, 1996
0 foot flood stage at 0000 EST on the 22d. Heavy rains fell on already saturated ground late on the 20th through the early morning hours on the 21st, as a storm tracked northeast along a stationary front across southeast Michigan.
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.
Heavy rains brought the Shiawassee river at Fergus above its 10.0 foot flood stage at 0000 EST on the 22d. The river crested at 10.5 feet at 0300 EST on the 22d, and fell below flood stage at 0800 EST on the 22d.Heavy rains fell on already saturated ground late on the 20th through the early morning hours on the 21st, as a storm tracked northeast along a stationary front across southeast Michigan. Radar estimates indicated storm totals of 3 to 5 inches from north of Grand Rapids east across the thumb region of Michigan. The result was the worst river flooding in the Saginaw Valley area since 1986. Hardest hit was the town of Vassar, along the Cass River, where 2 to 4 feet of water covered much of the downtown area. Estimates from Saginaw county indicated that crop losses would be near 1 million dollars.
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
- Hail in Colorado, May 22, 1996
- Rip Current in Florida, May 22, 1996
- Hail in Texas, May 22, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Nebraska, May 22, 1996
- Hail in Nebraska, May 22, 1996
- Hail in Nebraska, May 22, 1996
- Hail in Kansas, May 22, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Nebraska, May 22, 1996
- Lightning Strike in Iowa, May 22, 1996
- Tornado in Colorado, May 22, 1996
- Tornado in Colorado, May 22, 1996
- Tornado in Kansas, May 22, 1996
More
Every storm in Michigan in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in Michigan, May 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: 5555430.