ODNR data shows that 2018 was a recording-making wet calender year

With the help of heavy rain that never seemed to cease, 2018 has gone down in the weather record books as the third wettest for Ohio in the 136 years that such data has been kept.

And at a point on the calendar when Lake Erie levels should be declining its water elevation actually began to rise in November and December.

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources’ Division of Geological Survey reports that for the 2018 calendar year, the state averaged 51.15 inches of precipitation. That figure is 12.11 inches above average for any calendar year.

Ohio is broken down into 10 regional geological – called “climatic” - districts for recording purposes. This geographic configuration saw that the regional averages had a spread of 60.23 inches – or 19.54 inches above average – for the Southeast Region to 39.37 inches - or 4.35 inches above average – for the Northwest Region.

Data furnished by the Geological Survey Division says that eight of these co-called climatic regions ranked in the Top Five wettest calendar years on record, too, including the wettest on record for Southeast Region, and the second wettest on record for the South Central Region.

What water that did not percolate into the ground helping to recharge wells, ran off into stream, creeks, rivers and watershed basins. Thus, figures show that in November and December, Lake Erie water levels actually began to rise following their normal seasonal trend of decline beginning in October.

The recording station showing the greatest amount of precipitation in 2018 was the Ohio River’s Hanibal Locks and Dam in Monroe County, says the Geological Survey Division. Here, 69.70 inches of precipitation was recorded for 2018.

Recording the least amount of precipitation for 2018 was the small farming community of Wauseon in Northwest Ohio’s Fulton County. Here, just 36.80 inches of precipitation fell: A whopping spread of 32.90 inches between extreme Northwest Ohio and extreme Southeast Ohio.

Geological Survey Division recorded as well that both August and September, 2018 contributed mightily to the record book standings. Many of the 10 climatic regions posted Top Ten records for each month.

Meanwhile, February, 2018 saw record or near-record precipitation levels for all of the 10 climatic regions, the Geological Survey Division data shows.

And November, 2018 also saw above-average precipitation in eight of the 10 climatic regions with above average precipitation in the southern two-thirds of the states: Helping to put on a damp cap on one of the wettest calendar years on record for Ohio.

- By Jeffrey L. Frischkorn
JFrischk@Ameritech.net