Flood in Michigan, February 22 to 26, 1997

The Saginaw River at Saginaw went above its 19.0 foot flood stage at 4 pm EST on the 22d. The river crested at 20.7 feet at 1 amEST on the 23rd, and fell back below flood stage at 11 am ESTon the 26th.Low pressure tracked from Missouri northeast across southern lower Michigan on the 21st, The combination of heavy rain, meltingsnow and frozen ground produced widespread flooding. Precipitation amounts from late on the 20th through late on the 21st ranged from 1 to 2 inches from the Flint area south through Detroit to the Ohio state-line. Farther north, precipitation amounts of 2 to over 3 inches occurred from the Saginaw Valley to the Thumb region. Some of the highest totals included 3.10 inches at Saginaw, 2.88 inches at Vassar and 2.83 inches at Saint Charles and Essexville. The rain changed to snow before ending north of Detroit, with 3 to 6 inches accumulating across the Saginaw Valley and the northern part of the Thumb.Some of the heaviest damage from the flood occurred in northern and western Huron county. In the village of Sebewaing, the Sebewaing river overflowed its banks on the 22d and 23rd, causing the evacuation of residents in the Pitcher Subdivision. Also, the Bay Shore summer camp ground was heavily damaged, with estimated losses of several thousand dollars. In Caseville, 20 homeowners were evacuated early on the 23rd. In Vassar, the Cass river was above flood stage from late on the 21st through early on the 24th, submerging part of the downtown area. Widespread damage to roads was reported throughout the Saginaw Valley and northern Thumb areas on the 21st.