When it rains in the Akron-Canton region, it pours.
The area has seen a considerable amount of rain in the past few months, as storm systems in the area have resulted in high levels of precipitation.
“Last I remember this (much rain) was probably 2011,” said Andy Lyons, the owner of Lyons Den Golf Course in Lawrence Township. “We’ve had probably 20% less rounds due to weather.”
Lyons said navigating the wetter season has posed a challenge for the business. Golf carts can damage a course when it’s too wet.
“It’s a give and take. (The question becomes) what kind of revenue am I going to generate to offset the damage that’s going to be done?” he said. “It’s not really black and white.”
Keith Jaszka, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Cleveland, said rain amounts in April and May at the Akron-Canton Airport have been higher than average.
In April, the airport recorded 5.02 inches of rain — 1.16 inches above normal, he said. So far in May, there has been 2.02 inches — 1.01 inches above normal.
Lyons said these conditions are totally different from last year around this time.
“It was a cook fest,” he said. “On this day last year, we were cooking out. (It’s) completely different.”
Lyons said the areas most impacted by the rain have been near the end of their golf cart paths, as those are the unprotected areas where an influx of carts drive, resulting in more damage.
“Where you exit, everybody drives, as opposed to certain areas of the course where maybe one in 10 people cross,” he said. “When you have a saturation, the turf gets weaker. As far as that goes, it’s more compromised, and if you continue to run traffic on it, it’s going to really tear that up (and) turn it eventually into something that’s not sustainable for grass.”
Lyons said they have been keeping the community informed about problem areas.
“We try real hard to communicate,” he said. “This is a small community, so we have open conversations about that sort of thing for safety and damage, but some days, it’s just hard no matter what you do.”
How much rain did the Akron-Canton area get last year?
Jaszka said though the amount is above average, the April rain total did not exceed last year’s total.
“April of 2024 was also wetter than normal at the Akron-Canton Airport last year as a whole,” he said. “The station had received 5.44 inches of rainfall. This month of May has been wetter than the first eight to nine days of May of last year. … Only one inch of rain had fallen (last year) during that time period.”
Are Akron-Canton’s springs getting wetter?
Jaszka said the station has observed more rain from storm systems in Northeast Ohio.
“Over the past few years, storm systems as they impact our area, they’ve been drawing more moisture generally northward from the Gulf as well as the southern Gulf Stream,” he said. “That has allowed these storm systems to produce greater amounts of rain.”
Have the Akron-Canton region’s rain totals broken records this season?
Though the area has seen considerable amounts of rainfall, Jaszka said it’s a far cry from the most on record.
“The wettest April on record at the Akron-Canton Airport was in 1929. That was when they received 7.58 inches of rainfall,” he said. “The wettest May on record at Akron-Canton Airport was in 1956. They had received 9.60 inches of rain, so we’re nowhere close to that at this point.”
Could the Akron-Canton region break rainfall records for May?
Conditions expected in the next week may make it difficult for the area to break past the current record.
While the forecast calls for the potential of rain on May 13 and May 14, “we’re not expecting a particularly drenching rainfall,” Jaszka said.
Temperatures could be above average in the region late this week
Higher temperatures are on the way, as the National Weather Service said there’s a high probability of above average temperatures through the week.
“There is a 70-90% chance of temperatures being above average with the probability of temperatures being above 80 degrees around 10-30%,” the agency said in a post on X (formerly known as Twitter). “Normal highs for that time period are in the low 60s.”
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Rainfall in Akron-Canton area has been above average this spring