Exactly How Much Rain Can Gutter Helmet® Handle?

Homeowners in certain parts of the country that are subject to heavy rainfall often ask us if rain gutter covers from Gutter Helmet® can stand up to really heavy rains. The answer is yes, they can! 

Let’s get down to the nitty-gritty. Gutter Helmet has been tested to handle 22 inches of rainfall per hour, almost twice the heaviest rainfall ever measured by the U.S. Weather Service. The accepted world record for the most rain that fell in one hour is 12 inches of rain in Holt, MO, on June 22, 1947. Even more impressive, the entire 12 inches fell in only 42 minutes! However, this record is a matter of debate, as there are other cases without official records.

There are several additional contenders for record rainfall amounts in short periods of time. Another 12 inches was measured in one hour in Kauai, HI, on January 24, 1956, with a total of 43.5 inches measured during the 24-hour period between January 24-25. On May 22, 1941, Plainville, IL, picked up 8.4 inches in just 40 minutes. Another rainstorm in Catskill, NY, was reported to have dropped 10 inches in one hour on July 16, 1819. On the night of August 4-5, 1943, a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers rain gauge measured 13.8 inches of rain in one hour at a location in central West Virginia.

The world record for the most rain in two hours and 45 minutes is held by Woodward Ranch in southwestern Texas, where on May 31, 1935, 10 inches was measured in one hour, 15 inches in two hours and a record-breaking 22 inches in two hours and 45 minutes.