Cincinnati sees record rainfall in weekend deluge
UC professor says 6 inches that fell in hour topped historic daily records
The Cincinnati Enquirer turned to a civil engineering expert at the University of Cincinnati for context about a July 17 rainstorm that caused extensive flooding in parts of the city.
The suburb of Oakley reported that more than 6 inches of rain fell in an hour during the storm, which caused flash flooding that swamped roads and damaged properties.
Former U.S. Ambassador to UNESCO Jean Elizabeth Manes, left, and UC Associate Professor Patrick Ray met in Paris in 2025 after his appointment as UNESCO Chair on Water and Climate Change. Photo/Provided
UC College of Engineering and Applied Science Associate Professor Patrick Ray studies risk management for droughts and floods and serves as UNESCO chair on water and climate change, helping governments and non-governmental organizations make smart decisions about public investments.
According to numbers from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the rainfall totals set new records dating back to 1948, Ray said. The six inches of rain smashed the previous record of 5 inches recorded at Lunken Airport.
“That's a catastrophe,“ Ray told the Enquirer. “I don't think you're going to engineer your way out of that.“
Ray said engineers plan for extreme storms, but the rainfall July 17 exceeded 100-year storm standards. To create flood prevention for storms of that magnitude would require fundamental changes in civil engineering in Cincinnati, Ray said.
“We just don't build for that. We just say get out of the way,“ he said.
Featured image at top: UC Associate Professor Patrick Ray talked to the Cincinnati Enquirer about record flooding in parts of Cincinnati. Photo/Dottie Stover/UC Marketing + Brand
Related Stories
Upstream river flooding becoming more common
January 3, 2025
WVXU talks to UC Assistant Professor Dongmei Feng about her new study in Nature examining water flow in the world's rivers. She found that flooding is becoming more common in upstream sections of rivers.
Rivers expert says satellite technology can help protect drinking water
June 17, 2026
University of Cincinnati environmental engineering professor Dongmei Feng is using satellite remote sensing to study rivers around the world and protect drinking water supplies. As co-lead author of a paper in Nature Water and the recipient of two major federal grants, Feng is developing tools to monitor nutrient pollution and toxic algal blooms from space, with applications for cities like Cincinnati.
Enquirer: Power to Cincinnati water plant failed
October 6, 2022
UC engineering professors explain significance of Cincinnati water plant shutdown in May.