We already knew with one week remaining in August that it would be the wettest on record in the state — the only question was how far past the old record would the rainfall go. State Climatologist Harry Hillaker says it appears we’ll end up over an inch above the record. Hillaker says average was nine-point-76 inches of rain, easily beating the old record for August of 8.24 inches set in 1993. Hillaker says it was the third wettest month ever, behind July of 1993 and June of 1947.
Hillaker says the rainfall was heavy over most of the state. He says the highest amount was 19-point-43 inches for August, "which is a pretty exceptional number." It was warmer than normal in August, but not record-setting like the rain. He says it averaged about three degrees warmer than normal, not making the top ten warmest for August, but warmer than usual. Hillaker says with eight months in the books, the year has been warmer and wetter than normal.
Hillaker says the only months that weren’t above normal in temperature were February and April. The wet August pushed the state several inches about normal, with the summer months of June, July and August ranking 8th wettest, that despite below normal rain in June and July.
While the rain was accompanied by wind and thunderstorms, Hillaker says there haven’t been many twisters. He says it’s really been a quiet season for tornadoes, with very few and not very large. Hillaker says that could change in a hurry with one bad afternoon that spawns a lot of twisters.