In case you haven’t noticed, it has been raining a lot.
Like “widespread flooded basements and landslides on major roadways” a lot.
How much, exactly?
Cincinnati saw 7.33 inches of rain from June 1-June 20, according to data from the National Weather Service, tying the highest amount of rain the city has seen in this month since at least 2014. In June 2015, 7.33 inches of rain fell over the course of the entire month. We have 10 more days to surpass that total, and more rain is in the forecast.
We’ve also already surpassed the highest amount of rainfall in a 24-hour period in at least the past five years. The 2.38 inches Cincinnati saw June 16 blew past the previous highest amount since 2014 — 2.29 inches on June 23, 2017. That year, by the way, June in Cincinnati saw 5.25 inches of rain.
“Normal” for Cincinnati this time of year is about four inches, according to the NWS.
So far, this isn’t the wettest year ever, but it is close. Total rainfall in Cincinnati from Jan. 1 to the middle of June reached almost 37 inches — the fourth-highest recorded rainfall total in Cincinnati history.
All that rain has caused landslides that closed most lanes of Columbia Parkway, a major artery between the east side and downtown. It also caused flooding in hundreds, if not thousands, of homes across the Greater Cincinnati area.
City of Cincinnati officials yesterday gave a news conference where they discussed flood safety and emergency responses the city was initiating.
This article appears in Jun 19-26, 2019.