News Photo by Steve Schulwitz This property near a home on Wall Avenue is seen on Sunday after it was overcome by flood water. Heavy rain over the weekend caused flooding in the Alpena area.

ALPENA — The rain over the last four days led to some minor flooding and many basements that filled with water.

Since Wednesday morning, Alpena received 3.88 inches of rain, which saturated the ground and pushed water levels up for local lakes, rivers, and streams.

That amount of rain already eclipses how much Alpena historically receives for the entire month of June.

A record was set in Alpena for the rain on Saturday, as 1.6 inches of rain was measured at the Alpena County Regional Airport.

The old record was 1.42 inches of precipitation which fell in Alpena on June 22, 1990.

A Flood Watch was issued for Northeast Michigan by the National Weather Service on Friday night and it expired Sunday morning.

Alpena received nearly two inches of rain just on Saturday.

By Sunday afternoon, the water in some of the flooded areas was already receding, but standing water in and near the city was still a common site.

Some of the areas that had minor flooding were in the neighborhoods behind the Thunder Bay Shopping Center to properties near and around Golf Course Road, where flooding is not uncommon when there is heavy rain.

National Weather Service Meteorologist Faith Fredrickson said the hot and humid weather Alpena had early last week set the stage for the heavy rain, as cooler air moved into the area which created stores along the low front.

“With the high humidity we had up here, it created conditions that were really good for heavy rain,” she said.

The heavy rain and minor flooding could impact farmers, Fredrickson said, depending on a farm’s size, how far it is above the water table, and what type of soil the fields consist of. Fredrickson said ponding and flooding may have different impacts on a farm, depending on many factors.

“Really each case is different,” she said, “One farm can have a lot of standing water, which can kill or damage a crop, while the same amount of water on another farm will not have any impact at all.”

This month, Alpena is already well ahead of the long-term average for precipitation for June. According to National Weather Service data, the average monthly amount of precipitation for June is two inches of rain. So far this month, Alpena has already received 5.47 inches of rain, and more is forecasted for Tuesday and again on Saturday when there is a chance of rain and possibly thunderstorms.

Fredrickson said cooler temperatures will blanket the area possibly until early July and periodic rain remains in the cards.

“The temperatures will go up and down with some rains and storms every few days,” she said. “The flooding concerns should be over for most people in the Alpena area, but more rain is coming, it doesn’t look like it is going to be as heavy for such a long duration of time.”

Steve Schulwitz can be reached at 989-358-5689 or sschulwitz@thealpenanews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ss_alpenanews.com.