Flash Flooding and Damaging Winds late July 4th into July 6th 2022

Flooding

Heavy thunderstorm rain fell during the morning hours of Tuesday, July 5th across northeast Indiana. Allen County was particularly hard hit with 3 to 6 inches of rain falling on the morning of Tuesday, July 5th. Ponding of water was extensive and moderate flooding was observed along Spy Run Creek. 

This morning rainfall set the stage for more extensive flash flooding Tuesday evening into early Wednesday morning. Torrential downpours repeatedly fell over the same areas with rainfall rates up to 3 inches per hour and an additional 2 to 4 inches of rainfall. This led to flash flooding across the Fort Wayne metropolitan area. The most extensive flash flooding was reported in the Wallen area. City and County officials issued a Travel Advisory and urged motorists to stay off of city streets that were not only flooded, but also had a countless number of downed trees, powerlines, and power poles. All told, 5 to nearly 10 inches of rain fell within 24 hours. The flood waters slowly receded through the daytime hours on Wednesday. Heavy rain also fell across portions of St Joseph county MI southeast into Dekalb and Steuben counties. 2 to locally over 5 inches of rain fell in these areas mainly Wednesday evening.

24 hour rainfall estimate maps are included below but do not accurately reflect the localized higher amounts that fell in some locations. 

Hydrographs

Around 5am on the 5th, the river level was about 2 feet. By 8pm the water level rose to nearly 7 feet.	Around 4am on the 5th, the river level was about 2 feet. By 3pm the water level rose to about 11 feet. A second round of heavy rain caused the river to rise again on the morning of 6th.	Around 4am on the 5th, the river level was about 5.8 feet. By 1pm the water level rose to nearly 12 feet.

Photos / Rainfall Maps

CR 300 N in Churubusco flooded on the morning of July 5th. Photo by Liz Braden.	Flooding in the Springwood neighborhood of Fort Wayne on the evening of the 5th. Photo by Jack Reilly, relayed by Liz Braden.	24 hour MRMS estimated rainfall amounts ending 8 am July 5 2022	24 hour MRMS estimated rainfall amounts ending 8 am July 6 2022

Wind

A handful of wind damage reports came in during the early morning hours of July 5th, mainly from collapsing storms. More significant wind damage occurred during the evening hours of July 5th across portions of Steuben county as well as Allen county IN. Winds were are estimated to have ranged from 60 to 70 mph. Several tree limbs, power lines and poles were reported down. Some uprooted trees were also reported, but the saturated upper levels of the ground likely made it easier for shallow rooted trees to be impacted. 

July 6 Wind damage in Hoagland, IN. Photo by Liz Braden.	Shelf cloud over Bluffton, IN on the morning of July 6. Photo by @jtinneywx

Photos & Video

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Radar

Radar loops from the 2 events are available below.

The first round of heavy rain and thunderstorms began early in the morning on July 5th and ended prior to noon. Loop courtesy of Iowa State.	The second round of heavy rain and thunderstorms developed in the evening of July 5th and ended in the morning of the 6th. Loop courtesy of Iowa State.

Storm Reports

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTHERN INDIANA
214 PM EDT TUE JUL 5 2022

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0900 AM     TSTM WND DMG     1 WSW HOFFMAN LAKE      41.27N 86.00W
07/05/2022                   KOSCIUSKO          IN   PUBLIC           

            TREES BRANCHES OF 1-3 INCHES IN DIAMETER 
            SNAPPED ALONG US-30 NEAR CRAZY JOES 
            FIREWORKS. TIME ESTIMATED FROM RADAR. 

0905 AM     TSTM WND DMG     2 SSW WINONA LAKE       41.19N 85.84W
07/05/2022                   KOSCIUSKO          IN   NWS EMPLOYEE     

            2 HEALTHY 1 FOOT IN DIAMETER PINE TREES 
            SNAPPED. TIME ESTIMATED FROM RADAR. 

0950 AM     TSTM WND DMG     2 W ABOITE              41.00N 85.36W
07/05/2022                   HUNTINGTON         IN   EMERGENCY MNGR   

            POWERLINES DOWN IN WATER ALONG US 24 BETWEEN 
            CR 1100 N AND SR 114. 

0507 AM     TSTM WND GST     WETSEL                  40.95N 84.44W
07/05/2022  M46 MPH          VAN WERT           OH   EMERGENCY MNGR   

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTHERN INDIANA
851 PM EDT TUE JUL 5 2022

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0843 PM     HAIL             5 N NEW HAVEN           41.14N 85.03W
07/05/2022  U0.50 INCH       ALLEN              IN   PUBLIC

            REPORT FROM MPING: HALF-INCH (0.50 IN.).

0840 PM     TSTM WND DMG     2 WSW LEO-CEDARVILLE    41.20N 85.06W
07/05/2022                   ALLEN              IN   PUBLIC

            REPORT FROM MPING: 3-INCH TREE LIMBS BROKEN;
            POWER POLES BROKEN.

0831 PM     TSTM WND DMG     3 SE HUNTERTOWN         41.20N 85.12W
07/05/2022                   ALLEN              IN   PUBLIC

            REPORT FROM MPING: TREES UPROOTED OR
            SNAPPED; ROOF BLOWN OFF.

0823 PM     TSTM WND DMG     1 E WALLEN              41.15N 85.14W
07/05/2022                   ALLEN              IN   PUBLIC

Rain Reports

The images below reflect CoCoRaHS reports from the hardest hit areas over a 60 to 72 hour period.  

Rainfall reports for northeastern Indiana	Rainfall reports for NW parts of the forecast area

Environment

A warm front moved north during the early morning hours of July 5th, aiding in the eventual training of thunderstorms from NE Whitley county into northern Allen county. The warm front moved north into lower Michigan during the day then returns south and became stationary during the evening hours of the 5th, once again becoming a focus for additional thunderstorms and locally heavy rainfall. 

Figure 1: WPC Surface Map July 5th at 2 am EDT	Figure 2: WPC Surface Map July 5th at 11 pm EDT

Precipitable water values (PWATs) increased to around or just over 2 inches across the area both with the warm front (Figure 4) and along the front as it became stationary the evening of July 5th. These high values represent the very moist atmosphere that was in place and one of the many factor for the flooding rainfall in some areas. 

Figure 4: PWAT July 4th 11 pm through July 5 12 pm	Figure 5: PWAT July 5th 3 pm through July 6 4 am

Parts of the forecast area were being impacted by drought conditions due to a lack of overall rainfall over the past couple of months. Below is the image of the drought conditions across the area as of 8 am July 5th, 2022. While many area did receive needed rainfall, much of it was forced to runoff, especially during the first event due to the antecedent dry conditions and hard ground. How much the rainfall will influence the drought will not be known until the week of July 11th.  

Figure 6: Drought Monitor Overview July 5th 2022 at 8 am EDT