Flood in Hancock County, Ohio

Major flooding occurred in Hancock county starting on July 13 and lasting through the 15th. Three to locally five inches of rain fell during the early morning hours of July 13th producing widespread overland flooding, localized flash flooding, and shortly thereafter significant river flooding on the Blanchard River and tributaries Eagle and Lye Creeks.

The week prior to this event had been wetter than normal with a minor flooding event on the Eagle Creek near Findlay. Rainfall over the prior few days saturated the top soil with standing water in many locations across northern and northwest Ohio, rivers and creeks remained above normal. The environment for the 13th were supportive of heavy rain. The WFO CLE issued a Flash Flood Watch for the area on Wednesday July 12 at 3 pm in effect for that night through the morning of July 14. Dew points across the region during the morning of the event were in the lower 70s with high moisture content throughout the air column. A pre-frontal trough moved southward into the region during the morning hours of the 13th, triggering convection. The warm cloud depth at times reached over 13,000 feet, anomalously high even for July. The environment supported very high rainfall rates of 4 inches an hour or greater in strong storms. All combined conditions favor a high risk of flash flooding with concerns for subsequent river flooding.

The Blanchard River reached it's fifth highest level on record at a stage of 16.5 feet midday on the 14th. Both the Eagle and Lye Creeks produced major flooding as well. In all damages exceeded $10 million mostly in Findlay; 5 homes destroyed, 21 with major damage, 114 with minor damage, and 285 affected properties.

Access in and around Findlay was significantly hampered. Elsewhere in Hancock County over 3 dozen roads were closed due to flooding. No reports of damages to bridges or washouts of roads. Some stormwater drainage issues caused or exasperated the flooding in some areas, but the majority of the impacts were from the Blanchard River or the Eagle and Lye Creeks.

Hancock County lands are predominantly used for agricultural purposes. Standing flood waters produced widespread damage to crops. Most notably impacted were the soy bean fields.

Dew points across the region during the morning of the event were in the lower 70s with high moisture content throughout the air column. A prefrontal trough moved southward into the region during the morning hours of the 13th, triggering convection. The environment supported very high rainfall rates of 4 inches an hour or greater in strong storms. All combined conditions favored a high risk of heavy rain and flooding. A Flash Flood Watch was issued for the area on Wednesday July 12 in effect through the morning of July 14.

Major flooding occurred in Hancock county where 3 to locally 6 inches of rain fell during the early morning hours of July 13th 2017. Significant river flooding occurred on the Blanchard River. Overland flooding also occurred in Wood, Seneca, Sandusky, and Wyandot counties. The Portage River reached moderate flood stage, and the Sandusky River reached minor flood stage.