Another rain record falls

By RALPH ANSAMI

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Ironwood — The violent storms that ripped through Ironwood Monday evening set another single-day rainfall record spanning the past 117 years.

A total of 2.83 inches poured down on Ironwood for the 24-hour period to 7 a.m. Tuesday, setting an Aug. 28 record.

That brought the monthly total to 7.26 inches, also a record through Aug. 28, as August is usually a dry month.

The average monthly rainfall through Aug. 28 in Ironwood is 3.03 inches, according to the National Weather Service office in Marquette. The record low through Aug. 28 was .36 inch in 1902.

Lightning lit up the sky beginning around 6:30 p.m. Monday as a series of storm fronts moved through the Gogebic Range and beyond. There were some major lightning strikes over Lake Superior and unofficial reports of more than 4 inches of rain across the Gogebic Range.

Just as city commissioner Jim Mildren was praising the area’s response to recent flooding at Monday night’s commission meeting, the rain came down again and Cloverland Drive flooded a few hours later.

The heavy rainfall caused the Gogebic-Iron Wastewater Treatment Facility off Cloverland Drive to discharge wastewater into the Montreal River that was not fully treated. That occurred around 10 p.m. Monday, according to a notice from the wastewater authority.

The bypass is required in an attempt to prevent sewage backups in private basements.

The high temperature for the 24-hour period was 77 degrees and the low was 55, with stifling humidity.

Precipitation for the year now stands at 29.71 inches, compared to the long-term average of 21.74 inches.

Funnel clouds were confirmed Monday evening by the National Weather Service in Houghton and Baraga counties. The NWS said the clouds were not tornadoes and didn’t touch the ground.

The Bergland dam weather station received 2.18 inches of rain.

There were reports of downed trees all across the Upper Peninsula.

The National Weather Service office in Duluth reported communities near there received between 1 and 3.5 inches of rain. Hinckley received 5.6 inches.

While the rain continued here, the National Weather Service said as much as 4 to 8 inches of snow could fall in the mountains of Montana and Wyoming.

Some areas there were placed under a Winter Weather Advisory, as temperatures dropped 20 to 30 degrees.