Saturday's storms dumped just over 2 inches in South Bend and 2 and a half in Granger. While any moisture helps in a drought like this, experts say a 15 minute downpour doesn't really offer a good soaking. And it didn't seem to help the low river levels either.
Elliot Lusk kayaks in South Bend and New Carlisle a few times a year. This time the St. Joseph River looks a little different. "It doesn't look as appealing as it normally would with a lot more weeds showing up," said Lusk.
And there's more than just weeds showing up. St. Patrick's County Park Leisure Services Supervisor K.C. Nieboer said, "you can see lots of debris along the river that's normally covered by the water, tree branches for the most part but every now and then you might find something a piece of furniture or something. We have a boat that's come down river and is now visible it was not visible two weeks ago." All of these things have been uncovered because the lack of rain means the river is very low.
So did Saturday's rain help at all? It Doesn't look like it. "I believe when I was here on Friday the water was up higher than it is right now," said Nieboer. So where did that rain go then? It went where the river flows. Nieboer said, "if it rains here that helps but only to the part that's going away from us. When it rains in the southeastern Michigan that helps us more here. The river actually starts near Albion, Michigan and comes down into Indiana."
But even though the river is still pretty shallow it's not stopping Lusk from a day of kayaking.
"It would be nicer if it was a little higher but um that's not gonna stop us from enjoying the day and being out on the river," said Lusk.
Saturday's showers was the first measurable precipitation St. Joe County since a trace of rain fell July 1st.
