Wettest Winter in U.S. History

[Cryptoad]

The contiguous United States just slogged its way through the wettest winter and the second wettest February in more than a century of recordkeeping, according to analyses released Wednesday by NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information.

Across the three months of meteorological winter (December-February), the nationally averaged precipitation was 9.01”, just above the old record of 8.99” from 1997-98. That winter’s precipitation was goosed by a record-strong El Niño event, as was the case in 1982-83 (the fifth wettest winter on record) and 2015-16 (the fifteenth wettest). This past winter saw only borderline El Niño conditions, though.

This winter’s moisture was well distributed, with most of the nation wetter than average. Leading the pack were states east of the Rockies, where heavy snows and torrential rains fell time and again on the north and south sides of a persistent storm track from the Southern Plains to New England. Tennessee had its wettest winter on record, and 18 other states had top-ten wettest winters.

REad more

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no argument out of me!

[CousinIT]

1. 40" above "normal" rainfall for 5 year period in Raleigh-Durham

And 14" above "normal" for 12 months.

There is more rain there than in freaking Seattle. Rains minimum 3 of any 7-day period and about 50% of each month. NASTY. And it's only going to get worse as climate change kicks in and hurricanes get to Cat 6 (it's coming).

I expect that in the next 20-50 years it will get to where it rains literally every day there, with a half-Sunny day once a week (maybe).