Roseburg Smashes Single Day Rainfall Record For March with 3.47 Inches Sunday

Yesterday, Roseburg received 3.47 inches of rain between 1 AM on March 16th and 1 AM on March 17th, smashing the previous daily record of 0.87 inches set back in 1932. The deluge didn’t just break records—it obliterated them, claiming the title of the wettest single day in March history, surpassing the old mark of 2.29 inches from March 21st, 2012. By 1 AM on the 17th, the month’s total rainfall had already climbed to 6.95 inches, making this the third-wettest March ever recorded in the city—and with half the month still to go, it’s closing in on the all-time high of 8.65 inches set in 2012. Sunday's record rain was on top of several days of rain leading up to Sunday. Wednesday - .87 inches Thursday - .23 inches Friday - .93 inches Saturday - .97 inches Sunday - 3.47 inches More rain is expected this week, but fortunately the rivers and creeks are not expected to rise from these rains and the water levels should continue to drop, according to the NWS in Medford. Deer Creek officially reached 15.91 feet, breaking the all time record of 15 feet 4 inches. As of Monday morning at 9am, Deer Creek has dropped to 7.61 feet. The South Umpqua River officially reached 29.47 feet, cresting at 11:45pm before it started dropping. This is the highest the South Umpqua has been since 1983 when it reached 30.32 ft on Feb 18th of that year. As of Monday morning at 8:15, the South Umpqua has dropped to 23.73 feet. The North Umpqua River officially reached 21.03 feet and crested at 4:45pm. As of Monday morning at 8:30am it has dropped to 13.55 feet. Here are the NOAA projections for creek and river levels issued on Saturday the 15th, for Sunday the 16th and how they held up. Deer Creek was projected to reach 12.5 feet. It reached 15.91 feet over 3 feet higher than projections and setting a new all time record. These last three feet were very destructive to homes and businesses along Deer Creek. There was no official mention of Newton Creek in the flood warnings, which flooded just as bad as Deer Creek. Everyone should know to prepare accordingly next time Deer Creek has flood warnings, as they should also be attributed to Newton Creek. There was a lot of destruction along Newton Creek, possibly more than Deer Creek as Newton Creek damaged an apartment complex and homes in several densely populated neighborhoods. South Umpqua was projected to reach 20.5 feet. It reached 29.47 ft, almost 9 feet higher than projections. This was a significant miss. The South Umpqua flooding wasn't really on our radar at all, with projections almost 6 feet below flood stage, to three and half feet over flood stage. North Umpqua was projected to reach 18 feet. It reached 21.03 feet.