National Water Conditions

Conditions for the month of August 1998

On August 10-11, up to 5-8 inches of rain hit eastern Maryland and Delaware causing flash flooding problems.

Five inches of rain fell in Bedford and Fulton Counties, Pennsylvania, on August 14.

On August 2, 3 inches of rain fell in 3 hours in St. John's County. Florida which resulted in several homes being flooded.

Coweta County, Georgia, received up to 4 inches of rain in one hour on August 13.

Hurricane Bonnie came ashore in North Carolina on August 26 and dropped heavy rains of up to 6-10 inches on the coastal plain of North Carolina. Hood Creek near Leland, North Carolina, set a new peak of record. Bonnie only caused small stream flooding throughout much of North Carolina and Virginia.

Lake and Porter Counties, Indiana, were hit with 2 to 6 inches of rain on August 3-4. On August 4-5, Grant and Blackford Counties, Indiana, had rainfall amounts of up to 10 inches. Marion, Indiana, had evacuations because of a weakened levee. The streamflow index site on the Mississinewa River at Marion, Indiana, peaked at a discharge of 22,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) which had a recurrence interval of approximately 25 years. This index site also set a new maximum August mean monthly flow record. 10-year floods were recorded on the Salomonie River near Warren, Indiana, and Big Lick Creek at Hartford City, Indiana. The Wabash River was above flood stage through August 15.

On August 6-7, 6 to 11 inches of rain fell across parts of Michigan flooding roads and low-lying areas in Lenawee, Oakland and Washtenaw Counties. On August 9, 8 inches of rain fell in 3.5 hours in Macomb County, Michigan. Flooding was reported along the Big Sable River.

On August 8, Hardin County, Ohio received between 4 to 7 inches of rain in 6 hours. creeks and small streams rose above flood stage. Conneaut, Ohio, was hit with flooding following heavy rains in northern Ohio on August 10-11.

Heavy rains in northern Ohio on August 25-26 caused flooding along the Huron, Maumee and Portage Rivers. The streamflow index station on the Maumee River at Waterville, Ohio, set a new maximum August mean monthly flow.

Marion County, Illinois, was hit by up to 7 inches of rain in 3 hours on August 3. Low-lying areas were flooded. On August 4, 3 to 6 inches of rain fell in Will County, Illinois, and Clark County, Illinois, reported 4 to 5 inches. Columbia County, Wisconsin, reported nearly 5 to 6 inches on August 3-4.

Sheboygan, Wisconsin, reported 10.7 inches of rain on August 6-7 and one unofficial report of over 12 inches was noted. Many homes were flooded when the Sheboygan River at Sheboygan, Wisconsin, set a new record discharge of 7,820 cfs, which had a 34-year recurrence interval. Two boys drowned in the Underwood Creek at Elm Grove, Wisconsin. The USGS gage on Underwood Creek at Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, set a new record stage over 2.5 feet higher than the previous record. Flood recurrence interval for the Menomonee River at Wauwatosa was 65 years.

Parts of Minnesota reported over 6 inches of rain on August 19-20.

On August 19-20, parts of South Dakota, reported over 6 inches of rain. On August 20, Webster City, Iowa, reported up to 6 inches of rain causing Brewer Creek to flood and requiring rescues from trapped cars. On August 21, parts of Nebraska received up to 5 inches of rain which caused flooding on larger creeks and streams.

Southwestern Kansas was hit with as much as 7 inches of rain on August 27-28. Widespread flash flooding resulted.

Drought conditions continued in Oklahoma, Arkansas, Texas and Louisiana into August despite some much needed rainfall in the early part of the month. Corpus Christi, Texas, received 0.69 inches of rain on August 6 which ended a 142-day streak with cumulative rainfall less than 1 inch. Dallas, Texas, received only 0.44 inches of rain from june 12-August 15. Brownsville, Texas ended 50 days without rain on August 15 when it reported 0.13 inches. Year-to-date rainfall in Brownsville was 3.19 inches (24 percent of normal) on August 15.

A new minimum August monthly mean flow was set at the streamflow index site on the Calcasieu River near Oberlin, Louisiana, of only 32 cfs, which was only 26 percent of the long-term median (1961-90).

Dilley, Texas, received up to 8 inches of rain on August 5-6, causing flash flooding problems. On August 7, San Jacinto county, Texas, received 2 to 4 inches of rain.

On August 14, 2 to 4 inches of rain fell in Jefferson and Orange Counties, Texas, in 2 hours. Webb County, Texas, received 2 to 6 inches of rain on August 16-17. Mirando City, Texas, reported 9 inches of rain on August 16-17. Flash flooding problems were localized in these areas.

On August 18, Uvalde and Zavela Counties, Texas, received rainfall at rates up to 2.5 inches per hour. Some evacuations were required due to the resultant flash flooding. Parts of Kinney County, Texas, recorded 5 to 6 inches of rain.

South Texas went from drought to catastrophic flood with the arrival of Tropical Storm Charley on August 22. The center of Charley came ashore 30 miles north of Corpus Christi, Texas, moved inland, and then stalled over the Rio Grande Valley near Del Rio, Texas. Del Rio recorded 2.89 inches of rain from January 1 to August 15, about 27 percent of normal. On August 23, Del Rio was deluged with 17.03 inches of rain. The previous monthly record rainfall for Del Rio was 15.79 inches. Major, disastrous flooding followed on the Rio Grande, Devil's, San Antonio, Frio, and Nueces Rivers. The rains continued into August 24 with another 7.5 inches in 6 hours falling at a site south of Del Rio. The Rio Grande River at Eagle Pass, Texas, was over 20 feet above flood stage. By August 26, the remnants of Charley had caused flooding along the Pecos River and flash flooding over much of south and west Texas.

La Paz and Yuma counties, Arizona, reported between 1 and 2 inches of rain per hour on August 11-12 which caused flash flooding.

Washington County, Colorado, reported 3 to 4 inches of rain in an hour on August 9. On August 10, the Denver, Colorado, metropolitan area received 3 inches of rain in 40 minutes. Lena Gulch in Golden, Colorado, flooded forcing evacuations.

Big Horn County, Montana, received 3 to 4 inches of rain on August 20. Box Elder Creek in Carter County, Montana, rose and spilled over its banks on August 20.

Flash floods were serious problems on August 21 in parts of Arapahoe, Douglas, and Elbert Counties after storms dropped 5 to 6 inches of rain.

Both streamflow index stations in Puerto Rico were above normal flow for August.

Streamflow index stations in Hawaii were in the normal range for August.

Two of the four streamflow index stations in Alaska were in the below-normal range for August. They were the Kenai River at Cooper Landing, Alaska, and the Tanana River at Nenana, Alaska. The other two index sites, the Little Susitna River near Palmer, Alaska, and the Chena River at Fairbanks, Alaska, were in the normal range.