Keweenaw Report Your Source for Local News and Sports
June 17th marks the three-year anniversary of the devastating flooding that hit the Keweenaw on Father’s Day of 2018. Meteorologist Matthew Zika says the situation facing forecasters was one of uncertainty that night.
He says the torrential rains that affected Houghton, Hancock, and Lake Linden in particular are becoming more common, including across the Upper Midwest.
Zika says models are improving and becoming more accurate, but the biggest lesson learned is the need to push out notices to the public. The Father’s Day Flood made that difficult since it hit just after midnight. Even a robust spotter program was nullified by the darkness. As roads and bridges washed away, no one knew the true extent of the damage until hours later.
