May sets record for rainfall in southeast Michigan

In the as-if-you-didn't-already-know department, various newspaper are reporting the record rainfall we received last month. From the Detroit Free Press comes this article: May sets record for rainfall in southeast Michigan

National Weather Service officials said the 8.46 inches of rain that had fallen on the region as of Monday afternoon made this the rainiest May since the United States began recording rainfall in the 1850s, surpassing 8.05 inches in 1943, the Detroit Free Press reported in a Tuesday story.

May 2004 was also the second-wettest month ever, behind just July 1878, The Detroit News reported.

And the Grand Rapids Press had this to add:

Monday's rain pushed May's total to 9.26 inches at Gerald R. Ford International Airport, the region's third-wettest May. But this year's rain did far more damage than the record 10.01 inches in 2001 because of how and when it fell, National Weather Service Meteorologist David Beachler said.

This May's rain fell on wetter soil and was spread over successive days. That swelled the Grand River, which rose to its highest level in 20 or more years in many regions, causing flooding in Lowell, Ada, Comstock Park and Robinson Township in Ottawa County.

Agricultural experts say the wet weather has been costly. It's just a matter of how much. "It's a little bit premature to make an assessment," said Dennis Pennington, an agricultural agent for the Michigan State University Cooperative Extension office in Kent County. But Pennington said farmers are likely going to have to write off part of their soybean and corn crops. He is seeing signs of insects like the alfalfa weevil that farmers can't treat because they can't get into their fields.