Flash Flood Warning, Near-Record June Rainfalls

The following was written by Gary Jeanfaivre.

With rain falling every day this week and forecast to continue through the weekend, June could go down in history as one of the wettest months in more than 30 years.

Due to the saturation levels and more rain predicted to fall, the National Weather Service (NWS) has issued a flash flood warning from noon Thursday through 6 p.m. Friday.

So far this month, the area has been hit with 8.87 inches of rain, according to NWS meteorologist Dan Hoffmann.

Hoffmann notes that local totals could be higher or lower, given that much of the precipitation has come from thunderstorms, which could be more severe in certain areas.

"It's definitely been really soggy," he says.

So much so that the last time June saw so much rain was in 1982, when 11.54 inches fell from the sky. That puts this June 2.67 inches away from the 1982 number, which is the second most in history for the area.

And, Hoffman says, there's a relatively good chance that this could be a record-breaking June. The current forecast is showing a chance of rain showers and thunderstorms each evening through Saturday, he says.

Normal rainfall in June for our area is 3.04 inches.

The higher than normal rainfall is a result of a persistent southwestern wind flow that has been pushing heat and humidity our way. Ultimately, the pressure reaches a point of instability and that's when the rain and storms come, Hoffman says.

“We’ve kind of been stuck in that general pattern,” he notes.