Heavy rain early Saturday caused erosion which formed a ditch in this downtown location. (Photo by Mark Wilcox, Houghton Daily Mining Gazette)

HOUGHTON — A wave of thunderstorms that hit most of Houghton County early Saturday morning, dropped heavy amounts of rain and caused damage throughout the county. While not to the extent of the Father’s Day flood of 2018, heavy erosion and washouts were reported on several streets and roads in several areas. 

The storm started after midnight early Saturday and produced lightning, high winds and rain … a lot of rain. “There was quite a significant amount of precipitation from Toivola, north,” said Jim Salzwedle, observation program leader at the National Weather Service Marquette Office in Neguanee Township. 

“Between two and four inches fell over a wide area in Houghton County, with most places reporting three inches or more.”

To put that in perspective, National Weather Service statistics show the historical average rainfall in Houghton County for the month of June is just under three inches (2.8″). That means most of Houghton County saw more than an average month’s precipitation, in just a couple of hours.

While short of the devastation of the 2018 flood, there were reports of wash outs, lane closures, power outages and more throughout Houghton County.

In Houghton a downtown location that still had not completely recovered from the Father’s Day flood, was impacted again with water creating a deep ditch. The east shoulder on a large section of Military Road, near the Houghton Elementary School had washed out, forcing city crews to set up cones to warn drivers.There was damage to the beach near Houghton’s Kestner Waterfront Park.

Reports on social media indicated flooding on U.S. 41 between Houghton and Chassell, with traffic reduced to one lane. The Houghton County Sheriff’s Department said, there was some damage on Massie Road near Chassell forcing its closure. As of 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Massie Road was still closed. Deputies said, while there were other reports of washed shoulders and some flooding, there were no major issues and no reports of injuries.