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Rains, records keep falling

So far, six daily and two monthly records set in Philly's wettest summer.

A few more showers are possible this afternoon, but the current daily total stands at just over 2 inches, or 3.75 for the month officially in Philadelphia.

As already noted, this has been the wettest meteorological summer -- that's the June 1 through Aug. 31 period -- since recordkeeping began in Philadelphia in 1872.

That record was broken by the end of July when 24.78 inches had been measured, besting the 24.58 mark of 2011 -- and that was for the entire three-month period.

The unofficial summer total now stands at 27.55, and, of course, every drop that falls will add to the record. For perspective, in 1922, 29.31 inches fell during the entire 12 months.

In addition to record rains in July, 13.24 inches, and June, 10.06, record for 24-hour periods were set on June 7; June, 8; June 10; June 11; July 23, and the granddaddy of them all, July 28.

The 8.02 measured that day made it the rainiest day in the era of official recordkeeping in Philadelphia, topping the 6.63 from the remnants of Floyd on Sept. 16, 1999.

What's behind the deluges of the summer of 2013?

Summer rains are notoriously capricious, and it's at least possible that the recent rains have taken dead aim on the official rain gauge at Philadelphia International Airport. Over the years, we've heard many a complaint that rains missed the gauge.

But as for the hypothesis that a warmer world will mean more extreme-precipitation events, the summer of 2013 in Philadelphia is hardly a rebuttal.